A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1220: Feeling Resigned and Leaving the Monk
"The Yellow River flows far away among the white clouds, and there is a lonely city on the top of the ten thousand feet mountain!"

On his way back, Wu Huaiyu encountered a heavy snowstorm and stayed temporarily in Liangzhou City. However, he did not reveal his identity, and did not go to the post station or the Liangzhou Governor's Office, nor even to the home of his good friend An Yuanshou.

This time when he returned to Beijing, his future was uncertain, so Wu Huaiyu kept a particularly low profile.

He entered the city with the identity of a merchant from Gaochang, Xizhou. After entering the city, he stayed in an inn run by the Sogdians. After placing his luggage and horses, he took a few followers and aides to travel around Liangzhou.

Liangzhou,

This was one of the four Hexi counties established by Emperor Wu of Han when he opened up Hexi.

Since the Sui Dynasty, the Hexi Corridor has regained its prosperity along the Silk Road, and Liangzhou has become the brightest pearl on the Hexi Corridor. Although the short-lived Sui Dynasty is often criticized, Yang Guang was given the posthumous title of Emperor Yang after his death.

However, in terms of managing the Hexi Corridor, the Sui Dynasty played a vital role. It was the Sui Dynasty that ended the turmoil of more than 300 years since the Eastern Han Dynasty and placed the Hexi Corridor back under the unified dynasty of the Central Plains.

Yang Guang visited Zhangye in the west, built a temporary palace, and held a grand World Expo. The leaders and envoys of dozens of countries including Gaochang and Yiwu came to pay homage to him and expressed their submission. The Turks, Tuyuhun, and Dangxiang, who had once blocked the Silk Road, were subdued by the Sui Dynasty, and the Silk Road was completely opened up.
Liangzhou,

It is a special zone on the prosperous Silk Road.

Helong is the most prosperous and affluent place as well as the most open place.

There are countless Sogdian Hu merchants here, and they bring with them Hu clothing, Hu women, Hu food, Hu makeup, Hu dance, Hu music, etc.

Wu Huaiyu had recently served concurrently as the governor and governor of Liangzhou.
Before that, Wu Shigui and Fan Xing had successively served as governors of Liangzhou, and the Wu family actually had a close relationship with the city of Liangzhou.

There is also the Wu family’s Fan Tower in Liangzhou City.

But today Wu Huaiyu did not go to his own Fanlou. He took a few staff members and walked in the snow, walking on the busy street.

There were hawking sounds everywhere.

Despite the wind and snow, it could not dampen their enthusiasm.

As the year draws to a close, Liangzhou is particularly lively. It is the most prosperous and bustling city in the Hexi, Longyou and Shuofang areas, and is also a commodity distribution center. At the end of the year, there are particularly many merchants and envoys traveling from the Western Regions to Chang'an, especially this year.

Suddenly, singing was heard from a flag pavilion on the street.

"Erlang, isn't this your Liangzhou poem?"

"Yes, it seems that the word Erlang is very popular in Liangzhou."

Several staff members smiled and said, "Why don't we just sit in this flag pavilion?"

Wu Huaiyu agreed with a smile, "Then let's go have a couple of drinks."

Qiting is the common name for restaurants in Liangzhou.

Several people entered the flag pavilion.
The waiter warmly welcomes guests.

"Just now I heard someone singing a song outside your place. Was it Liangzhou Ci?"

"Sir, you have a really good ear. Today, our restaurant specially invited several famous actors to sing. The song they just sang was Wu Pingzhang's Liangzhou Ci, and everyone liked it." The waiter was young and enthusiastic, and he talked a lot. "To be honest, since Wu Pingzhang left Yangguan, he has ridden his horse to the north and south of Tianshan Mountain and attacked the Turks with his mace. All the foreign countries have surrendered.
Our Silk Road became more and more lively. There were diplomatic missions coming and going all the time, more merchant caravans, and a large number of people from the Central Plains immigrated to the Western Regions.
Our Liangzhou is becoming more and more prosperous, and our Qiting business is full every day. The owner said he wants to give back to everyone, so he specially invited famous actors to sing, and there will be a beautiful Huxuan dance later!"

"Then give us a seat where we can listen to the music and watch the dance."

"Then I recommend the private room on the second floor to you gentlemen. You won't be disturbed and you can enjoy the singing and dancing."

I followed the waiter up to the private room on the second floor.
The interior is decorated in an elegant and spacious style. It is also warm inside even in such a cold day.

They ordered food and drinks and gave tips.
The waiter's smile became more and more brilliant, and his service attitude was very good.

I hurriedly asked someone to come and fix the stove.

Everyone gathered around the stove, drinking, chatting, listening to music and watching dancing.

"Liangzhou is really becoming more and more lively," sighed a middle-aged aide. He was born in Hexi, a northwestern native with his family in Lanzhou. When he was young, he came to Liangzhou and became a migrant worker.

Later he went to Chang'an and joined Wu Huaiyu's court.

He was very familiar with the city of Liangzhou, but now it seems a little strange to him.

“At the beginning of the founding of the country, Liangzhou had more than 8,000 households, but now it has increased to more than 22,000 households, ranking first in population among the Hexi states.

The merchants who were residing in Liangzhou as tourists or doing business, especially the Sogdian merchants from the Nine Zhaowu Clans, were not included in the calculation.

Wu Huaiyu had served as the governor and prefect of Liangzhou for two years. Although he had never been to the government office to handle affairs for a single day, he had a relatively good understanding of the basic situation in Liangzhou.

During the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui, Zhangye stole the limelight, but in the Tang Dynasty, Liangzhou was the real star of the Northwest.

It is not only an important commercial town on the Silk Road, but also a center of political, economic, cultural and international exchanges in the Helong region.

After the Tang Dynasty eliminated the Turks and Tuyuhun, the rich corridor of Hexi was no longer threatened and could develop with peace of mind.

The current grain production in Hexi can not only meet Hexi's self-sufficiency, but also meet the needs of Hexi's border defense. There is also surplus grain transported eastward to fill the national treasury and granary.

At present, the taxes from He and Huang fill the Right Treasury, and the taxes from various provinces in Hebei are collected to the east to enrich the Left Treasury.

Liangzhou was the metropolis in Hexi, bordering the Western Regions and the countries on the right side of the Cong, and trade and travel came and went without interruption.

"It is said that when it comes to prosperity in the world, Yangzhou is the first and Yizhou is the second, with Yangzhou at the top. But I think that as of now, the most prosperous are still the two capitals, Chang'an and Luoyang, and then the most prosperous are Guangzhou and Liangzhou, followed by Yangzhou and Yizhou."

"Well, it goes without saying that the two capitals are prosperous, especially Chang'an."

In fact, there was only one capital of the Tang Dynasty, Chang'an. Luoyang was not the capital of the Tang Dynasty. However, Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty built the Eastern Capital and moved the capital to Luoyang. People are still accustomed to calling Chang'an and Luoyang the two capitals.

During the Wude period and the early Zhenguan period, Luoyang suffered severe damage from wars and never recovered. However, later on, Luoyang rose rapidly due to its locational advantages.

Yangzhou has always been the center of industry and commerce in the south of the Yangtze River. During the Sui Dynasty, Yang Guang guarded Yangzhou for many years as a vassal king. Later, he became emperor and toured Jiangdu many times. He finally died there.

The Grand Canal of the Sui Dynasty further enhanced Yangzhou's status in the south of the Yangtze River.

However, since the Zhenguan period, the imperial court has attached great importance to industry and commerce and the development of trade. Not only has it reopened the Silk Road in the Hexi Corridor, but it has also attached great importance to maritime trade.
As the Tang Dynasty strengthened its control over Lingnan and developed maritime trade, Guangzhou caught up with Yangzhou and not only kept pace with it, but surpassed it.

Guangzhou and Liangzhou have one thing in common that makes them develop so rapidly: Silk Road trade, one by land and the other by sea.

Both places have now become the centers of a region.

Liangzhou is the center of the northwest Helong and Shuofang areas, while Guangzhou is the center of Lingnan.

Nowadays, if we really compare wealth alone, not to mention politics and culture, it is hard to say which of the six major cities, Yangzhou, Yibin, Liangshan, Guangzhou, Beijing and Luoyang, is stronger or weaker.

They are the Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen of the Tang Dynasty.

"Last year, Liangzhou Prefecture and the grain warehouses stored more than 370,000 shi of grain,"

This number is astonishing. This is only the grain stored in the grain warehouse, not the tax grain included in the two taxes. It is the grain that Liangzhou Prefecture bought at a higher price to reserve when the grain price was low during the harvest.

In one year, the grain storage capacity exceeded 370,000 shi, and this was just in Liangzhou Prefecture.

The staff member who was born in Hexi also said with emotion, "Now the Juyan Sea and Marsh meet the Zhangye River, and there are hundreds of thousands of hectares of land in between that can be used for farming, with water and grass for livestock, and can support tens of thousands of people. In addition, the settlements in Ganzhou are connected to each other, and the accumulated millet and wheat are hundreds of thousands of stones. The fields are water-conserving, and all crops are harvested."

Liang, Gan, Su, Gua and Sha provinces not only have the benefits of industrial and commercial trade, but also have fertile land that can be self-sufficient in food. How could such a precious land not be prosperous? With Liangzhou as the center, it was naturally even more prosperous.

In recent years, although the Maritime Silk Road has flourished and trade in southeastern seaports such as Guangzhou, Jiaotong, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Hangzhou, and Yue has flourished, ships have not replaced camels.
On the contrary, as the imperial court conquered Tuyuhun, Dangxiang, Turks and other obstacles that threatened the Silk Road, especially now that Wu Huaiyu had conquered the entire Western Regions for the imperial court,

This made the camel bells of the caravans on the Hexi Corridor even louder.

The waiter quickly served the food and wine.

The dishes in this flag pavilion are rich and have a strong Western Hu style, which looks a bit familiar to Wu Huaiyu and his party who just returned from the Western Regions. It is a long journey of 5,000 miles from Qiuci to Liangzhou. Although the journey is not in a hurry, it is also very hard because of the frequent snowstorms in winter.

The food on the road is simple and the accommodation is casual.

It is still two thousand miles from here to Chang'an.

But the wealth and prosperity of this place made them feel as if they were back in Chang'an City, sitting in the Hu Si Restaurant in Pingkangfang, the most lively area in Chang'an.

People in Liangzhou like to drink wine.

Holding a glass of wine, I looked through the window of the private room and watched the performance of the singing girls and dancers in the lobby downstairs. Their moving voices, accompanied by the sound of the Huji pipa, were particularly beautiful.

The Hu Xuan dance performed by the accompanying dancers was also very pleasing to the eye.

"I really want to live in Liangzhou for a long time." Wu Huaiyu sighed.

If I hadn't seen the snow on the top of Mount Qilian, I would have mistaken Zhangye for Jiangnan.

There are 100,000 households in the seven cities of Liangzhou, and some of the Hu people can play the pipa.

The fine wine of Liangzhou is made of grapes, and passers-by empty their pockets to pawn their precious swords.

When the wine is ripe, enjoy yourself, with red and green flags and vermilion and pink buildings.

Don’t say Wuwei is a border town, its cultural relics are the product of the generations to come.

Wu Huaiyu drank a few glasses of wine.

Looking at the singing and dancing downstairs and the cheers of the spectators, I couldn't help but recite the poems that many Tang Dynasty poets in history had written in praise of Liangzhou.

When the staff heard this, they all praised it highly.
Wu Huaiyu grabbed a handful of Anxi Daji silver coins and threw them directly from the upstairs to the performance stage in the lobby downstairs.

The shining silver and money of Anxi Daji,

This made the performing geishas and dancers very happy, and they all looked at him and bowed to him.

"Prime Minister, are you worried that something might happen after you return to Chang'an?" asked an aide.

From Wu Huaiyu's sudden and quiet departure from Qiuci City to return to Beijing, to his low-key and cautious manner along the way, and now his casual statement that he was willing to live in Liangzhou for a long time, all of these made them feel Wu Huaiyu's hesitation.

Facing these trusted aides, Wu Huaiyu smiled bitterly.

"How can I be free from worries?"

The staff also fell silent. Those who could become Wu Huaiyu's trusted staff were all very capable people.

They could already see clearly the situation Wu Huaiyu was facing.

Not to mention that his achievements are too great to be feared by his master,

But the merits he has established are indeed great.
When Li Jing conquered the Eastern Turks, he was impeached and almost imprisoned. When he conquered Tuyuhun, he was impeached again.

Although it was later discovered that the emperor gave Li Jing many rewards.

But Li Jing had also been warned, and later he voluntarily resigned from his position as prime minister. From then on, he stayed at home and devoted himself to writing military books.

Wu Huaiyu will definitely be impeached when he returns to Beijing this time.

If it was just a normal impeachment, everyone would feel relieved. But now everyone is not sure whether it is just a normal impeachment, just a warning from the emperor.

"The court summoned the prime minister back to the capital, but there has been no reward or new appointment. This is not normal."

"Yes, the future of Chang'an is uncertain."

Wu Huaiyi took over as the Grand Commander of Anxi, but this did not make everyone feel that they could relax.

Liangzhou is still two thousand miles away from Chang'an.

Getting closer and closer.

Wu Huaiyu was also a little irritable and uneasy.

He didn't have any big ambitions. He just wanted to return to the court and retire after achieving success, and then go to Lingnan or Annan to take up a post. He didn't want to stay in Chang'an.

But he felt that this time it wouldn't be so simple.

His contributions are so great. If the emperor does not give him enough rewards, he will not be able to explain to the world. Who will work so hard for the Li family in the future?
But given Wu Huaiyu's current age, rank, and reputation, there is no room for further promotion, and the emperor does not dare to give him real power easily.

Wu Huaiyu was already on a warning line that made the emperor feel very uncomfortable.

When he was in the Western Regions, he also made some mistakes intentionally. They were not mistakes of principle, but they were enough to give the censors a handle to impeach him.
But up to now, he has been in the Western Regions for two years and has made many mistakes, but the emperor has not punished him for any of them.

This made Wu Huaiyu feel annoyed.

What do you want to do if you don't deal with these little mistakes?
Just now he said that he wanted to live in Liangzhou for a long time, which really came from the heart.

Although Li Shimin was not the kind of person who would kill meritorious officials indiscriminately, he would never show mercy when it was necessary. Even though he had pleaded for mercy from ministers for many of his confidants such as Dang Renhong and Hou Junji, he had been repeatedly lenient towards Qiu Xinggong and Zhang Shigui.

But he had also killed more than one meritorious official just out of suspicion.

For example, the unfortunate Fifth Lady Li Junxian in history, and Liu Lancheng, were both killed when there was no clear evidence of treason.

A man who can kill his own brothers at will and put his own father under house arrest in order to seize the throne will definitely not be merciful.

If he really feels threatened, he will definitely fight back fiercely.

Think about it, the emperor's uncle-in-law, Zhangsun Wuji, was left on the bench for more than ten years. Li Ji, who was once considered a half-rebel king at the end of the Sui Dynasty, was also kept on the bench in Bingzhou for more than ten years.

"Sixteen years ago, my master Xiaoyaozi asked me to come down the mountain before he passed away. Sixteen years have passed in the blink of an eye. I have also been in the world of mortals, achieved success and fame, and experienced a lot.

I have been busy with these worldly affairs these years and have neglected the Longmen Dao that my master taught me.

I am unworthy of being the master's last disciple, and I am also unworthy of the status of the Longmen Sect Master that he passed on to me."

"Perhaps it's time for me to let go of everything in the world, become a monk again, and truly take on the role of the head of the Louguan Dao Longmen Sect."

The staff all understood Wu Huaiyu's true thoughts.

Become a monk,

It was just an excuse. Prime Minister Wu wanted to hand over power to the emperor and completely dispel the emperor's suspicions and concerns.

It's just that the price is a bit high.

"The Prime Minister has worked hard for 16 years to get his current position of power. Do you really want to give it all up just like that?"

Wu Huaiyu held the wine glass.

"These sixteen years of hard work have not been in vain. Can't I leave my name in history?"

If Li Shimin agreed, Wu Huaiyu would really be willing to resign from his official position, become the leader of Longmen Dao, and go to Guangzhou or Luzon to preach, which would be great.

After he retired, the Wu family's power in the court became more stable, and Wu Huaiyu was also safe.

(End of this chapter)