A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1316: Secret Death
Early in the morning, Wu Huaiyu opened the window and was immediately hit in the face by a gust of humid heat, as if someone had hit him hard with a hot, wet towel.

He rubbed his face,
But I have long been accustomed to the humid and hot climate of Luzon.
He turned around and went back into the house, turning a page of the Tang Dynasty Calendar. Today was the twenty-fifth year of Zhenguan, May Ji Si, which was the twenty-sixth.

More than half a month has passed since the Dragon Boat Festival, but the lively scenes of dragon boat racing and Qu Yuan worship on the Gangwu River in Luzon are still vivid in our minds.

In the blink of an eye, he had been in Luzon from the Central Plains for eight years.

After the emperor returned victoriously from his first expedition to Liaodong, he inspected Luzon on behalf of the emperor and never received an order to return to the Central Plains. He seemed to have been completely forgotten in the South China Sea.

But this is a good thing, exactly what Wu Huaiyu wants.

His current titles are Grand Marshal, Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, Grand Scholar of the Hongwen Hall and the Chongxian Hall and editor of national history, Envoy of the South China Sea, Governor of Luzon, Grand Master of the Three Departments, Senior Pillar of the State, Duke of Chu, with a fief of 5,000 households and a real fief of 3,000 households, Yuancong of the Zhenguan Period, and a meritorious official of the Lingyan Pavilion.

His titles are still very long and valuable.

He held the highest rank in the government, the highest position among ministers.

During these eight years, the emperor gave him additional titles twice.

One is that in the 18th year of Zhenguan, the emperor held a Fengshan ceremony on Mount Tai. Although Wu Huaiyu did not receive an imperial decree to go to Mount Tai to participate in this grand ceremony, the emperor still conferred the title of Governor of Luzon on him.

At that time, the emperor's uncle, Zhangsun Wuji, was given the title of governor of Yangzhou, but Li Ji was still the governor of Diezhou.

The second promotion was in the 19th year of Zhenguan, when the emperor personally led another expedition. The Tang Dynasty and Silla jointly destroyed Baekje and Goguryeo. Li Shimin led the army with unstoppable force. After conquering Pyongyang in one fell swoop, he rewarded the three armies in Pyongyang and gave rewards to the soldiers. Wu Huaiyu, the Taiwei who failed to participate in the Eastern Expedition and witness the great historical moment, still let the emperor remember his contribution in the strategy of destroying Goguryeo.

He was rewarded with 200 captive slaves from Goguryeo and a large amount of gold, silver and silk, and then his position as Luzon Observer, which he had held for two years, was upgraded to the position of South China Sea Observer.

He continued to observe customs and habits, and was asked to inspect Luzon with six articles to promote and demote officials.

Several maids from Silla came in and helped him wash and change his clothes.
Wu Huaiyu asked his followers to inform them to go to the dock from the Red Fort. After several expansions, the Luzon Red Fort is now more majestic on the side of Luzon Port, especially the red bricks are very eye-catching.

The merchants and common people of Luzon even like to call the Red Fort the Red Palace.
This place is high up and mysterious, it was the residence of Wu Gong's family.

In comparison, Luzon City on the banks of the Wu River is more vibrant. After more than a decade of development, the former small fishing village has now become a prosperous and bustling port city.
With more than ten thousand households, the Port of Luzon is full of gold and silver.

After leaving Hongbao, Wu Huaiyu did not go directly to Luzon City, but rode his horse on the suburban road first.

The Arabian horse galloped all the way, followed closely by its entourage and guards.

Passing quickly through rice fields,

Amid the vast rice fields are farm estates and several magnificently decorated aristocratic manor villas.

This is the suburbs of Luzon. Many nobles and wealthy people in Luzon like to build manors and villas in the suburbs. It is quieter and more comfortable here, and the villas can be very spacious.

The Arabian horse, with its short waist, is very well suited to the hot and humid climate in Luzon and can run at lightning speed.

The weather changes suddenly when the rainy season comes.

Suddenly, a downpour of rain came down and Wu Huaiyu hurried to the nearest manor.

When I got closer, I realized that this was not a noble manor or a landlord's farm.
This is a school.
He still had some impression that this was a girls' school built under the leadership of his wife Fan Xuanfu and others.

This school covers a large area and has quite a few students.

The sudden arrival of Wu Huaiyu and his entourage surprised the female guards at the door. They recognized the man riding the golden horse.
King of Luzon.

Someone hurried to inform the principal, a widow of a Luzon noble.

Originally he just wanted to take shelter from the rain, but he didn't expect to end up here, so Wu Huaiyu decided to go in and inspect it.

He also donated a sum of money to this girls' school, and his name is also on the monument of merit at the school gate.

Principal Wu Pei arrived soon.
This Wu Pei wore a hat with a rattan frame, covered with silk and coated with tung oil for rainproof. Black gauze was decorated around the brim of the hat. When worn on the head, the gauze hung down to cover not only the face but also the body.

Wu Pei was a woman in her thirties. She was also a member of the Wu family. Her husband was Wu Huaiyu's cousin. He had made some contributions when he came to Luzon, managed a considerable business, and was granted fiefdoms. He also obtained many manors and fiefs on the outer islands.

However, two years ago, when her husband was transporting goods to Srivijaya, he encountered a storm at sea, and both the ship and the people sank into the sea, and Pei became a widow. Fortunately, although the ship and the goods were lost, Luzon's trade is now developed. Not only do the ships and cargoes have multiple owners, but there is also insurance business, which paid a large sum of money, which reduced a lot of losses.

Wu Pei had a son and a daughter and had no plans to remarry. After Fan Xuanfu and others built this girls' school, she came here to become the principal.

In fact, she was also from the Hedong Pei family. Although she was not from a direct lineage, she was also from a famous family. She was well-educated, well-mannered, and had good looks.

Now her beautiful appearance is completely covered by the veil.

"I was nearby and it suddenly rained heavily, so I came here to take shelter," Huaiyu greeted the widowed sister-in-law.

When I entered the school, I heard the sound of reading from the wooden houses, which seemed very special in the rain.

“How many students are there in the school now?”

"There are now 18 classes, with a total of more than 800 girls."

The sound of wind and rain, the sound of reading, the sound of the ear.

The school's reception room was relatively simple. Wu Pei made a pot of tea for Wu Huaiyu, which was volcanic cloud green tea produced in Luzon. Wu Huaiyu, who was thirsty, picked up the teacup and drank it all in one gulp.

It tastes sweet right at the beginning, with a strong aftertaste.

The tea has almost no bitterness. After drinking a cup of hot tea, my back starts to sweat slightly.

"Good tea,"

Wu Pei said that this was tea from her own estate, and that the tea was mainly traded abroad, primarily to the two capitals in the Central Plains.

While drinking tea, I listened to Wu Pei talking about the current situation of the girls' school.

This girls' school has more than 800 students, all of whom are girls, and all of them are daughters of indigenous barbarians. It has a closed-door teaching system and a nine-year curriculum.

Priority is given to orphaned girls of the Yi people aged five or six.

The newly opened girls' school only has grades one and two, but it already has nine classes in each and more than 800 girls.

“What else is missing from the school?”

"With the strong support of Madam Chu, we have everything else. What we need now is female teachers."

All the people in the girls' school, from the principal to the teachers, and even the janitors and cooks, are women.

Girls who come here to study basically have to stay for ten years, nine years of semester and one year of internship.

The school provides completely free boarding, including food, clothing, etc.

The money was all raised by Fan Xuanfu and his group. The original intention of building this school was of course to educate people. Not only Chinese and Chinese characters were taught here, but also etiquette, as well as some skills such as textile sewing and cooking.

To put it bluntly, the future of these barbarian girls is to marry the Han people in Luzon and become wives or concubines.

The barbarian girls were brought to this girls' school and stayed there for ten years. They were fifteen or sixteen years old at that time, which was the right age for marriage. It can be said that even if these girls were allowed to return to the tribe after ten years, no one would be willing to do so.
They had long been strangers to the tribe.

There is actually more than one such girls' school. New ones have been built in recent years. Not only were they funded by nobles, but some were also funded by the Luzon government.

The Wu family has also been building schools, not only for girls, but also for boys.

Of course, there are also schools for the children of the Han Chinese in Luzon.

Wu Huaiyu has always attached great importance to education. Luzon now has a large territory, from Luzon Island in the north to the Spice Islands in the south, with countless islands of all sizes, and many natives have been conquered.

If we do not actively engage in colonial education and assimilate the indigenous people, the situation in Luzon where there are more foreigners than Han people will sooner or later become a hidden danger.

The rain in the rainy season comes and stops as it pleases.

A female school worker rang the bell for the end of get out of class, and it was time for physical exercises. More than 800 female students in 18 classrooms all rushed to the playground.

Under the guidance of the female teacher,

The large playground was filled with girls who were only five, six, seven or eight years old. Each of them was wearing the same Hanfu, a high-waisted skirt.

Even their hair is tied into two identical buns.

During the break, we practiced the Eight-part Vajra Exercise.
Although the children were small, they followed the exercises carefully.
"Can they understand and speak Mandarin now?"

"They're making rapid progress. The second graders can already speak fluent Mandarin and can write quite a few words. The first graders who just entered school this year can basically understand everyday language." Wu Pei looked at the children and said with satisfaction.

She invited Wu Huaiyu to have dinner at the school. "Morning classes are over, and it will be breakfast time in the cafeteria soon. If you don't mind, you can have breakfast here."

"Okay," Wu Huaiyu agreed and planned to see what the cafeteria was like.

The canteen breakfast is not rich, but it is OK, there are white rice porridge, corn paste, and fish soup. This place is close to the sea, it is a land of fish and rice, every morning the dock delivers some cheap fish, shrimp and shellfish, the price is very cheap, it is good to stew soup after processing.

Wu Pei said that the school raised pigs, chickens, ducks and geese, and had a piece of land. Some of the pigs were sold, and some were slaughtered to supply the teachers and students in the cafeteria, which could also add some profit. "The children must be well fed, and the profit must also be sufficient," Wu Huaiyu said after having a simple breakfast. With a wave of his hand, he donated 10,000 kilograms of rice and 100,000 coins to the school. "But we must remember the original intention of running the school, and let these children receive a good cultural education. I hope they will no longer be ignorant in the future, and I hope they can live a better life, and even be able to work and earn money like men in Luzon.
After they graduate in the future, they can get married, become school teachers, or work in textile factories..."

After the rain, the sky clears up.

Wu Huaiyu did not stay any longer. After saying goodbye to Wu Pei and others, he rode his horse back to Luzon Wharf.

The port terminal is always so lively, with ships coming and going and white sails dotted around.

In these eight years, not only has Luzon changed a lot, but Central Plains has also changed a lot.

The emperor was able to enthronize Mount Tai as he wished, and he also conquered Goguryeo and Baekje in the east of the sea as he wished, and Silla also completely submitted to the Tang Dynasty.

From the northern desert to the Western Regions, and then to Yunnan and Guizhou in the southwest, the power of the Tang Dynasty was at its peak.

The Zhenguan era was a prosperous one.

However, many of the heroes who created this prosperous era have passed away one after another. Gao Shilian died of illness in the spring of the 21st year of Zhenguan. After his death, he was given the title of Si Tu.
Wu Huaiyu's brother-in-law Ma Zhou also died of illness in the 22nd year of Zhenguan. His diabetes had been dragging him down, and his hard work for the country day and night also aggravated his illness. After his death, the emperor stayed at court for five days, gave him the title of Si Tu, and posthumously named him Wen Zhong.

Xiao Dapao Xiao Yu also died of illness, but he lived to be over seventy years old. After his death, he was posthumously awarded the title of Sikong and the posthumous name Zhenjian.

Three important officials died that year. The famous prime minister Fang Xuanling also died of illness in July of that year. He was posthumously awarded the title of Taiwei and the posthumous name of Wenzhao.

Qin Qiong and Li Jing both died in the 24th year of Zhenguan, Li Jing at the age of 80 and Qin Qiong at the age of 70. Li Jing was posthumously awarded the title of Si Tu and posthumously named Jing Wu, while Qin Qiong was posthumously awarded the title of Si Tu and posthumously named Zhuang Wu.

There was also the old literati rogue Liu Lancheng and the fifth lady Li Junxian, who were both executed by the emperor for treason at the beginning of this year.

Many people felt that they died unjustly because the emperor did not produce any real evidence of treason.

It is said that after returning from the second eastern expedition, the emperor's health has been poor and he had long handed over all court affairs to the prince.

He also conferred the title of Prince of Chen on Li Xiang, the eldest son of the Crown Prince and Princess Han. The emperor also selected Wei Yuanzheng's daughter as Princess of Chen for this grandson.

Wei Yuanzheng was born in the Jingzhao Wei clan, and was the cousin of Concubine Wei. Wei Yuanzheng married Empress Changsun's niece, Wang Wan, the daughter of the empress's sister and Wang Shao.

The son of Wei Yuanzheng and Wang Wan was engaged to the daughter of Li Shen, the Prince of Ji. Li Shen was the son of Concubine Wei, so he had to call Wei Yuanzheng his uncle, and his wife was the daughter of Wu Huaiyu.

Wu Huaiyu had no opinion on these marriages, and it was not his turn to have any opinion.

Originally, the prince's son was given the title of Prince of a County.

However, Li Xiang was directly conferred the title of prince. All this only shows that Li Xiang's position as the eldest son of the Eastern Palace is very stable and the emperor is very satisfied with this grandson. It also shows that Crown Prince Cheng Qian's position as the crown prince is now very stable.

History has quietly undergone many changes.

Li Shimin was not dead yet, and Crown Prince Chengqian was not deposed.
The princes Li Tai, Li Ke, Li Yin, Li You and their younger brothers Li Yuanjing, Li Yuanchang and Li Yuanjia did not die either, but were demoted to the Western Regions.

The princes including Prince of Jin Li Zhi and Prince of Ji Li Shen were also granted fiefs in Ryukyu, Hainan and other places.

Now the prime minister in the government affairs hall has been replaced by a new group of people.

The left servant was Zhang Xingcheng, the right servant was Yu Zhining, the minister of the Secretariat was Gao Jifu, the minister of the imperial court was Chu Suiliang, and in addition, the Minister of War Cui Dunli, the Minister of the Secretariat Cui Renshi, and the Minister of the Imperial Court Han Yuan were all given the rank of third-rank minister under the Secretariat.
Yuwen Jie was the Minister of Personnel, Li Wei was the Minister of Civil Affairs, Xu Jingzong was the Minister of Rites, Sun Fujia was the Minister of Punishments, and Yang Shidao was the Minister of Works.

The brothers Lai Ji and Lai Heng, who were considered half students of Wu Huaiyu, now have good careers. Lai Ji has been promoted to the position of Secretary of the Central Secretariat, scholar of the Hongwen Academy and concurrently editor of national history, while Lai Heng has been appointed as the Chief Clerk of the Yizhou Grand Marshal's Office.

His student Li Yifu was the Yellow Gate Minister, concurrently an editor of national history and a scholar of the Hongwen Academy, while Shangguan Yi was the Junior Secretary.

Wu Huaiyu did not return to the court for eight years.

As he had expected, his students and old friends all had smooth careers.

His elder brother Wu Huaiyi has been in Persia in recent years, fighting against the Arabs.

Wu Huaiyi, Ashina She'er, Qibi Heli, Liang Jianfang, Guo Xiaoke, Niu Jinda and other generals had been fighting against the Arabs in Persia for three years.

In the Sassanid Empire of Persia,
The struggle between the Tang Dynasty and the Arab Empire led to the complete demise of the Sassanid Empire. Now the last prince fled east to Chang'an and was named the King of Persia and Protector General of Persia by the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, but he can no longer return to Persia.

The Tang Dynasty and the Caliphate have now divided the Persian territory, but neither side is satisfied with the status quo. The Caliphate wants to completely annex the Persian territory and even wants Tocharistan and Transoxiana.

The Tang Dynasty, under the banner of restoring the Persian nation, wanted to drive the Arabs back to their homeland, the Arabian Peninsula.

The Anxi Army and Beiting Army of the Tang Dynasty led the vassal armies of Western Turkic, Sogdian, Tocharian, Khazars and other vassal states in repeated battles in Khorasan.

For three years, the Arabs failed to capture this important land known by the Persians as the Place Where the Sun Rises, let alone get their hands on Tocharistan, Transoxiana, and the Seven Rivers.

As the commander-in-chief of the Western Expedition Army, Wu Huaiyi performed very well in the past three years. He not only resisted the fierce attacks of the Arab army, but also opened up an outlet to the sea in the south. Although the mountain roads were rugged and transportation was inconvenient, he still united many local tribes under the banner of the Persian prince.
The Tang Dynasty appointed them as governors, provincial governors, and generals of the vassal states and asked them to rise up against the Arabs.

When Wu Huaiyu appeared at the dock,
The merchants and common people at the dock were used to it. The King of Luzon would come by every now and then. The merchants, sailors, and even fishermen here basically all knew him. He was amiable and had no airs. Wu Gong would often talk to everyone, no matter if they were fishmongers who smelled of fish or dock workers who were covered in sweat.

Wu Huaiyu likes the pier.
It's bustling and full of life here.

Although it was a bit messy, and even filled with the smell of sweat and fish, he liked this lively scene.

"Is there any ship arriving today?"

"Yes, several ships have just arrived from Xiangdao Port and are unloading their cargo."

The official at the dock replied that there are many routes opened to Luzon Port now, the most important routes are to Guangzhou Xiangdao Port and Quanzhou Ludao Port, and there are also routes to Zhangzhou Port, Hangzhou Port, Mingzhou Port, Qinzhou Port, Haikou Port, Jiaozhou Port, etc.

The spice trade controlled by Luzon alone brought in huge trade volumes.

What's more, Luzon is still a busy trade transit port. Many goods are brought from the Central Plains and transported here to Haidong, Nanyang, and even directly to Tianzhu, Persia, and the Mediterranean.

"Let's go and see what good stuff they brought," Wu Huaiyu said with a smile.

Now there are direct flights between the two places and the exchanges are frequent. Even if Wu Huaiyu stays in Luzon and does not go out, he can still understand the situation in the Central Plains at any time, but he will be a little behind.

When he arrived at the dock, Wu Huaiyu met an unexpected person.

Kunlun slave Tang Fengxiao is back. The intelligence chief he left in Chang'an returned to Luzon without any warning.

As soon as they met, his expression was solemn, "Alang, something big has happened."

Seeing his expression, Wu Huaiyu nodded and said, "Let's go back to Hongbao and talk."

Riding back to the Red Keep,

After Tang Fengxiao made sure that there was no one around, he uttered an important piece of news that made Wu Huaiyu's face change drastically.

"Seven days ago, the emperor passed away in the Hanyuan Hall of Jiucheng Palace. His will ordered the crown prince to ascend the throne in front of the coffin."

"Prime Minister Zhang Xingcheng and others kept the death a secret and urgently ordered General Cheng Yaojin to lead the Imperial Guards and Flying Cavalry to escort the Crown Prince back to Chang'an first."

Wu Huaiyu's face was as gloomy as water.
He didn't expect that the emperor would die so suddenly, and only lived two years longer than historically.

"What is your majesty's illness?"

"The suffering and benefits are increasing..."

Li Shimin died of vomiting and diarrhea in the palace. The disease came like a mountain, and the imperial doctors tried their best but were unable to save him. The emperor almost died suddenly.

Kunlun slave took out another piece of cloth, which could be seen at a glance as a piece of cloth torn from clothes.

"This is what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince asked General Cheng to pass on to A-Lang,"

The incident happened suddenly. On his way back to Chang'an secretly, the crown prince tore off a piece of cloth and wrote an urgent letter to Wu Huaiyu.

After seeing the letter, Wu Huaiyu immediately rushed to Chang'an to help preside over the overall situation.

Cheng Qian specifically told him to act in secret.

It has been seven days since Li Shimin passed away.

The first seven days have passed.

It is not known whether the prince returned to Chang'an safely and successfully ascended the throne in Taiji Hall.

"Alang, are we going back to Chang'an now?" Tang Fengxiao asked.

Wu Huaiyu looked at the scribbled letter. There were not many words on it, but the prince really wanted him to go to Chang'an to help preside over the situation.

The emperor passed away, and the great proud Li Shimin died.

Wu Huaiyu suddenly felt relieved, yet a little empty.

(End of this chapter)