A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 642
night.

The city gates have been closed for a long time, but the walls have been gradually demolished in the city, and now there is no longer a night ban.

Pingkangfang and several other places even have lively night markets that last all night long.

Li Shimin changed into casual clothes and took a carriage out of the palace.

The eunuch Zhang Anan is dressed in the attire of a noble family steward, which is very ordinary. However, Ma Zhou, the censor who governs the book, admonishes the officials, and the right concubine of the prince, no longer wears purple robes and jade belts today, but wears a white shirt, like those who have joined the noble family. It is very similar to the poor scholar who works as a curtain man.

The emperor also wears white robes,

But the demeanor is still extraordinary, and it's a good thing to sit in the car.

"Chang'an is getting more and more lively,"

Li Shimin opened a corner of the curtain and looked at Chang'an City at night. Unlike Chang'an City in the past few years, which was quiet and lonely after nightfall, today's Chang'an night is full of lights and people everywhere, adding a lot of human fireworks.

"This wall is demolished correctly,"

The emperor said to Ma Zhou, "When Wu Huaiyu wanted to demolish the walls and build shops along the street, how many people opposed it, but now, in just two years, so much has changed."

Ma Zhou smiled.

Demolishing the walls and setting up street shops not only brought convenience to the people, but also made Chang'an lively. It even gave many ordinary people more opportunities to make money and make a living.

Even after the curfew ceased, Chang'an also became lively.

"Many of Wu Huaiyu's ideas are very advanced," the emperor expressed his praise in front of Ma Zhou.

They were heading to the Wu family on this trip.

During the day, the ministers argued endlessly, and Li Shimin had a headache. Among the five opinions, Wen Yanbo and Wei Zheng were the most extreme. One was to be fully inclusive, and they also talked about the relationship between the Han and the Southern Huns. territory.

Wei Zheng, on the other hand, did not trust the Turks at all and drove them as far as possible, but he used the painful lesson of Wu Huan Hua.

To be honest, Li Shimin felt that what both of them said was reasonable, but military and state affairs were not just about reasoning, but also about operations and based on reality.

Although Jieli has been captured and Tuli, Yusheshe, Shabolushe, Zhiwiseli, etc. have all surrendered, except for Jieli's headquarters and Yugushe who have been defeated and collapsed, the rest of the tribes are still roughly intact.

It's just that the Turks have suffered many disasters in recent years, suffered repeated defeats in the war with Xue Yantuo, and were suppressed by the Tang Dynasty. All tribes are relatively weak.

But if they can unite, they will still be a powerful force.

What's more, there is Xue Yantuo in Mobei,

Li Shimin must consider everything comprehensively, otherwise if he blindly regards the Turks as his enemies and pursues them fiercely, then those Turkic tribes may rise up to resist.
This great victory in the Northern Expedition, which took three years of hard work, was in itself a matter of taking advantage of the situation, using surprise attacks and beheading tactics.
It is not that it has been completely able to crush the Turks.

Using Wei Zheng's idea of ​​​​driving the Turks directly to Mobei would definitely not work. Either the Turks refused to leave and rebelled against the Tang Dynasty, or they went to Mobei and were annexed by Xue Yantuo, strengthening the Yinan power in vain and rebelling against the Tang Dynasty. became a threat to Datang.

Wen Daya's acceptance of the proposal would help appease the Turkic tribes, especially the small khans and shes who still commanded tens of thousands of tents, including Tuoshe and Yugushe who fled to the Western Regions.

Moving inland or directly stationing at the frontier, based on the current actual situation, is indeed more sudden and more advantageous at the moment, but in the long run, it does have hidden dangers.

Li Jing didn't say a word in the palace, and Li Shimin was a little disappointed.

But I had expected this result.

The distraught emperor had two fresh dishes for dinner.

One is braised bamboo shoots in oil, and the other is pickled fresh. These are bamboo shoots sent by the Wu family. They are made using the Wu family’s recipes. The fresh bamboo shoots are paired with ham from Longyou Yanjing Village and fresh pork. They are stewed slowly in a clay pot over medium heat.
Yu Chu's skills are very good, and the Wu family's food comes with recipes. Yu Chu's perfect reproduction, the taste is salty and fresh, the soup is thick and white, the meat is crispy and fat, and the bamboo shoots are fragrant, crisp and tender, and have a strong umami flavor.

Another dish of braised bamboo shoots is also very good.

While eating this dish, Li Shimin finally thought of Wu Huaiyu.

He wanted to hear what Wu Huaiyu had to propose.

Near the Duke's Mansion of Jin State,

Fang Xuanling, who had been notified, had already arrived in advance. He was dressed in a green shirt, with a soft-legged futou and a mountain beard. He looked like an old official who had left the country.

The emperor got off the car and several people walked to Wu's house.

The guards quietly dispersed and protected in secret.

"His Majesty."

Li Shimin took Fang Xuanling's hand and actually wiped his tears, "When I saw you just now, I seemed to see Ruhui again in a trance. Hey, if Ruhui was still here, I wouldn't have such a headache."

Several people could not help but remain silent.

Du Ruhui had always been the emperor's confidant during his lifetime. Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui, Fang's strategist and right-hand man, had a tacit understanding and an invincible partnership.

Walking to the Duke of Jin's Mansion, Li Shimin pointed to the Wutou Gate and said, "I originally admired this boy and wanted him to succeed Ruhui, but this boy disappointed me so much."

Having said that, today the emperor still paid a private visit to the Wu family incognito.

Fang Xuanling stood at the door and felt very emotional. Wu Huaiyu made great achievements this time, but made bigger mistakes, but the punishment he received was not painful.
Many ministers, such as Liu Zhenghui, Liu Shili, Changsun Shunde, Liu Hongji, Yuchigong, Chai Shao, etc., all directly reduced their positions and won titles at that time.
Some were even sent to jail directly.

Wu Huaiyu was only relieved of his official position, but also of honors, ranks, titles, and fiefs.

How many days have you been reflecting at home?
The emperor actually visited at night in person.

Wu Huaiyu was in Chen Runniang's courtyard, lying under the ginkgo tree in the courtyard and listening to her talk about the accounts she was managing.

Chen Runniang was Wu Huaiyuna's first concubine. Although she is still a concubine to this day, her status in the mansion is extraordinary. Now that she has given birth to two children, she still helps Fan Xuanfu manage the accounts.

In fact, although Fan Xuanfu likes to buy land, he has no patience for trivial matters such as managing accounts, so he leaves it to Runniang and Wuniang.

"Alang, I heard a rumor recently. It was said that Mr. Wen proposed to the sage to move all the Turks to the inland, teach farming and etiquette, organize households and people, and change customs. He even said that the court would pay for it to move Alang to the north of Saibei. Is it true that all the more than 20 Turkic prisoners who were given as slaves to the soldiers when the Turks were conquered were bought back and placed in Hebei and other places?"

"Alang also divided a lot of Turkic slaves last time, and later the eldest lady asked him to buy many more. If the court wants to redeem them, I'm afraid they won't really pay them, or they will only give them a very small amount, so what can we do? It’s a huge loss.”

Wu Huaiyu was lying there, and a maid was gently massaging him. One was tapping his shoulders and arms, and the other was kneading his legs and feet. The two maids were petite and very gentle, but they came from Haidong Silla.

These Silla maids are twenty-eight years old, have good looks, and can even speak Tang dialect well. Therefore, the price is extremely expensive. One of them costs [-] to [-] yuan, which is as much as several Turkic maids.

"Thanks to Xianggong Wen's idea, the imperial court provided money to redeem them. Two to three hundred thousand Turkic prisoners were rewarded to the soldiers as slaves. Many of them were resold and are now scattered all over the country. How can they be redeemed?
Besides, how much does it cost to redeem a Turkic Din slave? A Turkic Din slave must cost between 30 and [-] yuan. Just a casual calculation shows that these [-] to [-] Turkic people must be worth several million yuan. Where did the court get so much money?
Why pay all this money?
How could the soldiers be willing to hand over their slaves to the court if they were not given money or given less money?

Isn't this just looking for trouble? The rewards for the soldiers of the Northern Expedition have not been implemented yet, but they have such leisure. "

Wu Huaiyu was very disdainful of Wen Yanbo's proposal. It was true that the southern Huns had attached themselves to the Han and the borderlands had been stable for more than a hundred years, but some things cannot be wishful thinking. "You don't have to worry about that. Mr. Wen can't do it, and the court can't do it either. We can continue to buy the Turkic slaves. Our family needs manpower to open up the frontier. Corn is grown in Shuofang, potatoes are grown in Youyan, and sugar cane is grown in Lingnan. Cotton is grown in Longyou, wheat is grown in Guannei and Henan, and rice is grown in Jianghuai.

The Wu family's Zhuangzi has a lot of land, but the labor gap has always been huge.

The mainland of the Central Plains is fine, as it can hire local people from the surrounding area, and even temporarily hire some part-time workers during busy farming periods. However, in the border areas, the area is sparsely populated, and it is very difficult to rent out crops or hire workers. Difficult, the main thing is to rely on slaveholding.

The border areas must adopt the production model of large estates, slaves and large livestock, otherwise they will not be able to do it.

At the beginning of the founding of the country after the great chaos, the most lacking thing was population, unlike at the peak of prosperity when there was an overabundance of labor force everywhere.

was saying,

The hunchback Hou Cheng led Ma Zhou in, "Alang, Ma Lang's son-in-law is here."

Wu Huaiyu came forward in surprise, "Why is brother-in-law here now?

It was already night now, although it was still too late, but it was still strange to come here in the middle of the night. Moreover, Wu Huaiyu had just made a big mistake and was ordered to shut up and reflect on his mistakes. The Wu family also refused all visitors.

Although Ma Zhou is brother-in-law, they both serve as ministers in the same palace. It is not easy to come to the door at this time, let alone come in the dark in the middle of the night?
Huaiyu saw that Ma Yiyi was wearing a white shirt and it became even more strange. This was obviously a deliberate disguise.

"What happened?"

"The saint came to visit in disguise. Erlang hurriedly followed me to greet him."

In the front hall, Wu Huaiyu saw Li Shimin, Fang Xuanling and Zhang Anan, who was as inconspicuous as an old servant.

"The guilty minister Wu Huaiyu didn't know that the saint was coming, so he missed the opportunity to welcome him from afar..."

"Stop it," Li Shimin waved his hand, "How are you doing your reflection at home?"

"I am fully aware of the seriousness of my sin..."

"Stop talking nonsense, I came here tonight to ask you something,"

Li Shimin was not too polite and directly asked how to resettle the Turks. Fang Xuanling also briefly stated the five opinions of the court.

"They all make sense," Wu Huaiyu said.

Li Shimin stared at him, "This is not the main hall of the court, and there is no one else there. Let's be honest."

"The minister has become bold. We should treat him differently and deal with him differently according to the actual situation. This time the imperial court defeated the Turks. In fact, it means severely damaging the Jieli headquarters and the Yugushe tribe, and several other tribes such as Tuli, Yusheshe, and Shaboluohan. Although he has been reduced, his strength has not been lost.
However, Tuo She had already traveled far to the Western Regions and had not even surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. "

"Then how do you deal with it?"

"Fight when you need to fight, pull when you need to pull back, don't be lenient just for the sake of fame, and there is no need to do things that you can't do now.
Some things should be done slowly and not in a hurry, but some things should be done and the consequences will be endless. "

In a few steps, the headquarters of Jie Li and Yu Gu She and his son were basically defeated. They were even defeated by Wu Huaiyu, Li Jing and others outside the fortress. They directly rewarded the prisoners to the soldiers, and some young men were handed over to the court.
This portion was handed over to the imperial court to the tune of about [-] yuan.

These people were captured on the battlefield. Although many of them were captured by Wu Huaiyu and others during raids in Baidaochuan, Tieshan, Qikou and other places, since they are already prisoners, don't be polite anymore.

There is no need to fight for these people, they are just prisoners and slaves and don’t need to be taken care of.

The 20 Turkic captives who were enslaved as a reward to the soldiers, plus the 30 Turkic captives currently in the hands of the imperial court, this is [-] people, equivalent to [-] tents. If the imperial court swallows it in one go, it will be a heavy blow. Turks, at the same time, also made the imperial court greatly replenished.

Of course, the soldiers of the Northern Expedition also gained a lot, and everyone was grateful to the court.

As for the Turks who were not captured at the beginning, especially those in Dingxiang and the north and south of Yinshan Mountain, Huaiyu suggested that they should be comforted.
Take a small part of them, about [-]%, and move them to the inland, disperse them a little, and resettle them into villages one by one. Try to keep these Turkic villages surrounded by Han villages.
Or maybe just move about half of the [-]% to Lingnan, Bashu, and Nanzhong areas to graze and guard the border, away from the Saibei grassland.

The remaining [-]% or so will continue to be placed in the same place, but the various departments will be re-adjusted. Large ones will be split and small ones will be merged. A Dudu's Mansion will be set up in the north of Yinshan Mountain, and another Dudu's Mansion will be set up in the south of Yinshan.

Under each governor's office, six to eight states were set up. Each state was a tribe. The boundaries were drawn and they were allowed to swear allegiance to the Tang Dynasty under the supervision of Datou. They would protect the northern border and were not allowed to cross the border or attack each other. Otherwise, the Tang Dynasty could Call on all tribes to jointly attack.

The north and south of Yinshan Mountain used to be the base of Jieli. They have suffered the most damage this time, so they have to be harsher and split up more thoroughly. The stronger tribes have to move some people inland to Hebei and Hedong, or even to Bashu in Lingnan. Wait for a place to go,
Don't let any tribe be able to dominate one family.

"What about Yu Sheshe in Hetao and Shaboluohan in the northwest of Hetao?"

"The land of the Hetao belongs to the Tang Dynasty, and has been the land of the Central Plains since the Qin and Han Dynasties. The imperial court can restore Fengzhou and Shengzhou, restore governance, and station troops and immigrants to guard it.

Let Yu Sheshe retreat to the north of the ancient Great Wall of Hetao to graze herds, and set up a governor's office in this place. The nine tribes under his command, each serving as governor of a state, were divided into nine states.

Shaboluohan in the north of Hexi also did the same. He established the Beining Governor's Mansion to command his land and the people of various tribes. "

Li Shimin listened very carefully.

Compared with the five opinions of the ministers in the court, the biggest difference between Wu Huaiyu's plan is that it does not treat all the Eastern Turks as a whole, but treats them differently.

The Tuli Governor's Mansion in Bei'an will not move for now.
The key point is to break up the people and territory of Jieli and Yugushe. Li Simo and Zhihusili divide the two governorates of Dingxiang and Sangqian in the north and south of Yinshan Mountain, and also divide the remaining stronger tribes. , moved about [-]% of the population inland to weaken them, and integrated some weak tribes into a group to form a Jizhou state.

As for Yu Sheshe of Hetao, he took back the Hetao grassland and asked Yu Sheshe to take his people and horses to the north of the mountain to graze, and set up a Yunzhong Governor's Palace for him, which was divided into nine states.

As for the [-] troops lost by Shaboluohan Suni in the west of Hetao and north of Hexi, we can also ignore him for now and set up Beining Governor's Palace, and then divide it into several more states. Specifically, we should not interfere too much. Anyway, as long as Just don’t enter Hetao and Hexi.

The meal must be eaten in one bite, but the purpose must be clear and cannot be confused by the Turks who are professing their vassal.

Fang Xuanling said, "Yu She set up [-] tents, and Sha Boluohan set up [-] tents. These add up to [-] tents. Even if the strength has been damaged in the past few years, if they are ignored, it will be a disaster after all."

"Prime Minister Fang, now the imperial court is unable to control the truth. As Prime Minister Wei said, drive them to Mobei? Or as Prime Minister Wen said, move them to Longyou, Hebei?"
Do you think Mo Mo and Suni would be willing to hold on to so many people by mistake? "

"Step by step, don't be impatient. As long as the imperial court can chew up Jie Li and Yu Gushe's piece, it will be terrible. Don't forget, there is also Xue Yantuo in Mobei who is rising now with great momentum. Let's You can't make a wedding dress for Yi Nan,

From now on, we must focus on guarding against Xue Yantuo in Mobei, and we must win over and appease the eastern Turkic tribes so that they can support Xue Yantuo for the court and cannot allow Xue Yantuo to cross the desert and go south."

"Then, as Erlang said, what if Yu Sheshe refuses to hand over the Hetao and go to the north of the mountain to graze his cattle, and becomes the governor of Yunzhong and the king of Huai'an County?"

"Although Momo was very rebellious towards Jieli, he was only 23 years old. As soon as Jieli was defeated, he immediately asked the King of Jiangxia to surrender. He didn't dare not hand over Fengzhou, Hetao,"

"What if we don't move north?"

"Then we can unite with other Turkic tribes and send troops to attack. Then we can defeat Yu Sheshe and divide the [-] people and livestock. It will not be a loss. We will return the troops and make a name for ourselves." Huaiyu said with a smile.As long as we promise to give Suni Shi, Zhi Shi Si Li, Tu Li and Simo some people and animals after destroying Yu She She, they will respond positively.

When Li Shimin heard this, he couldn't help but nod. Wu Huaiyu's suggestion indeed drew on the five opinions in the court and was more practical.

Bei'an, Sangqian, Dingxiang, Yunzhong, and Beining, the five major governor's offices are lined up from east to west.

If the extension of Ashinashe can also be attached to the Tang Dynasty, then a new Beiting Governor's Palace can be built directly to the north of Gaochang.

When the time comes, we can even appoint a few more Turkic blue wolves in Mobei to serve as governors, drive away tigers and devour wolves, and use the Eastern Turks to deal with the Tiele people in Mobei. How great.

(End of this chapter)