A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1326: The Song of Liangyuan
"When will Dalang come back?"

Under the big windmill on the bank of Qing River, Lao Wu held a teacup and asked his son, "Several fishing rods are set up on the shore, waiting for those who are willing to take the bait."

The windmills along the river are very busy. In addition to grinding rice and flour, these windmills can also saw wood, press oil, make paper, and pump water.

Compared with traditional water mills, windmills do not need to block rivers or build weirs, and do not compete with the people for water. The key is that they are very efficient. Since Wu Huaiyu built the first windmill on the bank of Qinghe River, the countless mills in the Guanzhong Plain have been almost all demolished in the past 20 years.
In the past, those mills belonged to nobles, officials and powerful people. Although the imperial court knew that they hindered water irrigation and affected people's livelihood, causing countless disputes every year, it was extremely difficult to demolish them. After the emergence of Wu's windmill, the imperial court finally didn't have to make things difficult for them, and the nobles slowly began to build new windmills to replace the old water-powered mills.

Wu Huaiyu looked at these big windmills. They were not just a beautiful landscape, but also a symbol of extremely high productivity. These windmills brought huge benefits to the Wu family every year.

He can do everything from grinding rice, grinding medicine, grinding paper pulp, drawing water for irrigation, sawing wood and forging iron.

"Brother should be back soon," Wu Huaiyu said to Lao Wudao with a smile. Muawiyah, the governor of Syria, had already returned to the Arab Empire and sent envoys to Chang'an. The Caliph had agreed to the peace treaty that had been negotiated before, although some people opposed it.

In particular, Ali was very opposed to the tribute agreement and accused Muawiyah of humiliating the country, but Muawiyah's words left Ali speechless.

He sent Ali to lead his army to capture Khorasan and Sistan.

However, the repeated defeats of the Arabs in Khorasan, especially the great defeat last year, had made no one in the Arab world have the confidence to go to war with the Tang Dynasty. Moreover, there was the bearded Emperor Constans II of Byzantium, who was the most powerful emperor since Emperor Heraclius I.

He ended decades of civil strife in Byzantium after the death of the old emperor. He was a man who was able to overthrow the regent, the Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager, and the uncle of the Second Emperor. He was also a powerful man who successfully ended the Arab winning streak and curbed the Arab offensive.

The Byzantine navy had been built and trained, and their navy was equipped with a secret weapon, Greek fire. The Arab navy had been defeated many times in the Mediterranean by the Byzantine navy.

The top priority now is to complete the construction of the new Arab navy as soon as possible, then defeat the Byzantine navy and curb the Byzantine counterattack momentum.

At this time, it is not appropriate to provoke the Tang Dynasty again.

If a 30-year peace agreement could be signed, even if 11,000 pounds of gold were paid as compensation a year, it would be fine. Muawiyah also said that after the agreement was signed, the Arabs and the Tang Dynasty would be able to engage in comprehensive trade, and the profits from trade would then be huge, far exceeding the tribute.

Ali remained silent. It was not that he did not dare to fight the Tang Dynasty again, but he believed that if he expressed his willingness to lead the army to fight Khorasan again, Osman and Muawiyah would definitely do something shady. They had already made peace with the Tang people, and they would unite to plot against him.
Whether it happens openly or covertly, Alibaba may be doomed.

Moreover, it is indeed unwise to start a war on two fronts.

Ali finally agreed to the peace treaty with the Tang Dynasty. Now the thirty-year peace agreement has been reached, and the first year's 11,000 pounds of gold has been delivered to the Tang Dynasty's Persian Protectorate.

As the Grand Protector of Anxi and Persia, Wu Huaiyi's next step was to withdraw troops from part of the Persian territory according to the agreement.

If nothing unexpected happens, there will be no more fighting on the Western Front.

As long as the Arabs pay an annual tribute of 11,000 pounds of gold as agreed, the Tang and Arabs will live in peace and not invade each other.

Wu Huaiyi, the Grand Protector General, naturally had to return to the court to meet the emperor and report on his position.

"I haven't seen Xiao Shitou and An Zhu'er for a long time. Can they come back this time?"

"They should return to Beijing for pilgrimage this winter,"

The two kings who were now in the Western Regions were also the most prestigious kings among the nine states of Zhaowu Sogdia. They also made a great name for themselves in the war with the Arabs. Previously, some states of Zhaowu Sogdia were not very loyal to the court, and they were slow in sending troops and food, which caused complaints from the kings and nobles.

Shi Shouxin and An Lushan each sent out 10,000 troops to swiftly sweep through these small states, destroying them directly and capturing and beheading their kings.

Those nobles who had complaints against the Tang Dynasty were also executed and their property confiscated.

Afterwards, the two men each established several puppet kings, their prestige in the river soared, and they also plundered and made a lot of money.

Wu Huaiyu was a little surprised that his two adopted sons had reached such a point.

My brother has fought so well in Khorasan in recent years, and it can be said that these two people have also made great contributions.

However, She'er also performed well in the Western Regions. This Khan was also loyal to the court. In the past few years, some people from the Turkic and Karluk tribes had disobeyed the court and tried to rebel against the court. She'er, the Khan, took the lead in suppressing the rebellion.

After several rounds of slaughter and reorganization, the large tribes such as the Turkic and Karluk tribes have become much more obedient now.

The Western Regions are so vast.

The reason why the imperial court has been able to maintain a tight control is, after all, relying on swords.

All in all, the imperial court had stationed more than 100,000 troops in the Western Regions, plus more than a million Han immigrants, and reorganized the city-side tribal armies of the Turks, Sogdians, Tiele, Tocharians, Persians, etc. Each village had its own united army and loyal archery clubs.
Whenever there is a sign of rebellion, they would rush over and surround it.

During the war with the Arabs in recent years, the imperial court also took the opportunity to rotate and reorganize the troops of various tribes, making them more standardized, with strict control over the number of people and equipment. In addition, a large number of officers sent by the imperial court were also included in the commanding officers.

Another thing is that the production of weapons and equipment for the tribes in the Western Regions is now completely monopolized by the imperial court. They can only buy them from the imperial court and are not allowed to produce them on their own.

Lao Wu didn't know much about the situation in the Western Regions, nor was he willing to bother to learn about it. He talked to Huaiyu about the boss today, just hoping that Huaiyu could transfer Huaiyi back.

It’s not a big deal to be 20,000 miles away.

"You, don't always think about going back to Luzon. What's so good about Luzon in that ocean? I heard it's very hot all year round, and there are often hurricanes.
Now that the new emperor has ascended the throne and trusts you, you should stay in Chang'an."

The fish float is swaying and a fish is hooked.

Lao Wu had good eyesight and quickly picked up the fishing rod.
"Hey, that's a big fish."

Huaiyu quickly picked up the scoop net to help Laowu catch a large black fish weighing more than ten pounds.
"I didn't expect there were such big bluefish in this river."

"Now that the millstones in Qinghe have been removed, there are more fish." Lao Wu was very proud of catching such a big fish, his face was bright red.
Lao Wu put the bait on again and cast the rod.

Huaiyu poured another cup of tea for Lao Wu, who happily drank it all in one gulp. "Did you have a falling out with Uncle Changsun?"

Huaiyu smiled, poured herself a cup of tea, and sipped it slowly.

"I didn't have a falling out with him, he just got carried away."

Lao Wu nodded. "Uncle Changsun was a timid and cautious person in the previous emperor's reign, but now he is said to be aggressive and overbearing in the court."

"Well, he treats Your Majesty as a child." Huaiyu said with a smile.

Lao Wu shook his head and sighed, "Your Majesty has been the Crown Prince for 25 years. The late Emperor often asked him to supervise the country, and Your Majesty behaved quite steadily and maturely.

Even though Changsun Wuji is the emperor's uncle, he cannot lose his position. "

Wu Huaiyu smiled. Even an 85-year-old man like Lao Wu could see it clearly, but Changsun Wuji was still stubborn and refused to realize it.

Before Emperor Taizong passed away, after Zhangsun Wuji was reinstated as prime minister, he launched three major treason cases, including Li Tai's. How many people were imprisoned?

If Li Shimin had not been so reluctant, several princes, brothers, and a bunch of consorts would have been killed.
Although Changsun Wuji was clearing obstacles for the prince, his methods were too cruel.

Even Li Shimin felt a little worried, so he took the opportunity to let Changsun Wuji leave the central government, and even told Cheng Qian not to let Wuji return to the court to serve as prime minister again.

When Cheng Qian first ascended the throne, he ignored the previous emperor's instructions and recalled Huaiyu and Wuji to the court.
But within a year, Cheng Qian couldn't stand it anymore.

Zhangsun Wuji's taking on too much, even overstepping his authority, made the emperor disgusted and even feel a sense of crisis.

"Erlang, you must remember that our family is descended from the emperor's family," Lao Wu reminded.

Old Wu followed Wu Shigui in the Hedong army and fought all the way to Chang'an. Later, he was settled in Sanyuan. Because his legs were a little lame, he asked his eldest son Huaiyi to replace him and continue to serve in the imperial army after he turned 60.
"You are now in a high position and have great power, but we must remember our identity. We are the emperor's followers and we must loyally protect the emperor."

"Huo Guang can't do that."

"It won't end well."

Wu Huaiyu nodded. He knew this better than anyone else. "Aye, you are right. So I think I should go back to Luzon."

"It's actually the same if you stay in Chang'an. It's fine the way you are now. Just don't take on too much of the court affairs."

In the evening, Wu Huaiyu personally cooked several dishes using the big blue carp.

Braised herring, pan-fried fish fillet, boiled fish fillet, fish head tofu······

The two of us had dinner together.

At the beginning of the Zhenguan period, Lao Wu worked hard to increase the number of his family members. He took dozens of concubines and gave birth to dozens of children in ten years.

Now, the youngest child is fifteen years old.

The children of the Wu family do not have to worry about marriage. They have no trouble finding a husband and are now all married. Huaiyu's younger brothers are now officials and the younger ones are studying in the capital. They no longer stay in Sanyuan.

My younger sisters also got married one after another.

Old Wu was left with only a group of concubines.
"Give me some wine."

Although most of Lao Wu's teeth had fallen out, he still liked to have a little wine every day, but he didn't drink too much. Huaiyu didn't stop him and even poured Lao Wu a glass of wine himself.

What I drank was Shaochun, a real pure grain wine, which tastes good but doesn’t make you drunk.

"You and Dalang should take good care of your brothers and sisters in the future."

"Don't worry, Aye."

Huaiyu poured herself a full cup and drank slowly with Lao Wu.
"More than 20 years have passed in the blink of an eye. I still remember the scene when you came back with Dalang that summer. Time flies."

As we get older, we always seem to like reminiscing about the past.
After dinner, the father and son went to the courtyard of Wubao to enjoy the cool under the green willow tree.

"How many days will you stay this time?"

Huaiyu smiled and said, "I plan to stay here for a long time this time. I plan to stay here until the New Year and then go back to Chang'an."

"Really?" Lao Wu laughed, his eyes brightened. The children had grown up, flying everywhere like dandelion seeds.
The only ones left at home were the concubines. They were still young, but Lao Wu was already old. He found them noisy and was too lazy to be with them.
Although his children always said that they wanted to take him to live in Chang'an, he still liked the freedom of the countryside.

"Well, we two will go fishing, drink tea, and go shopping every day!"

"Okay, that's what you said. You can't just stay for a few days and then run away."

"No, I'll stay with you this time."

(End of this chapter)