A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 957 The Emperor’s Prince’s Imperial Preceptor
Beiyuan.

In a simple thatched courtyard, a handsome young man came in,
"Your Majesty, the Duke of Jin has just entered Chang'an City."

In the thatched cottage, Li Shimin, who was dressed in filial piety, put down his Zizhi Tongjian, raised his eyes, and waved to the young man, "Come in and sit down."

The young Zhou Daowu was the eldest son of Zhou Shaofan, the former Minister of War, and came from the famous Runan Zhou family. Zhou Shaofan was once a confidant of the emperor and was in charge of the Imperial Guard. Zhou Daowu was raised in the palace as the son of a meritorious official when he was young. He was also selected by Li Shimin as the husband-in-law of the tenth daughter, Princess Linchuan.

After Zhou Shaofan died of illness the year before last, Zhou Daowu took the title of Duke Qiao and returned home. Now that his period of filial piety has expired, he is appointed as the chief of the North Gate.

Zhou Daowu made a pot of tea for the emperor.

Li Shimin took a few sips. This tea was still the Lingnan black tea that Wu Huaiyi brought back when he returned to Beijing. It was fragrant and refreshing, and the tea soup was deep red.

Black tea and green tea are both teas promoted by the Wu family in recent years. Domestic sales are mostly green tea, sea trade is mainly black tea, and for the surrounding barbarian nomadic tribes, black tea is the leading one.

Looking at the bright red tea soup in the white porcelain cup,

Li Shimin was a little distracted. Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, tea drinking has gradually become popular. It is no longer just a hobby among gentry and monks, but has also become popular among all classes. The planting area of ​​tea has also become larger and larger, and various tea processing The craftsmanship comes out,
Even in recent years, tea exports have been increasing in foreign trade with barbarians on all sides, as well as in the Western Regions and overseas.

Li Shimin was holding the teacup, but fell into deep thought again.

Li Shimin picked up the purple clay tea cup, blew it gently, and then took a sip of the green tea. It was indeed fresh, refreshing and sweet. Although the tea was more than half a year old, it was still very fresh.

"Where are Xu Jingzong, Li Yifu, and Shangguan Yi? Didn't they go to the Duke of Jin's mansion?"

"Go and guard the prince well."

"The Taifu Qing Wu Huaiyi went to the Baqiao Post House to greet the Duke of Jin today, and returned to the city together in the afternoon. After entering the city, he went back to his home in Yongxingfang and did not go to the Duke of Jin's Mansion in Yixingfang."

Just like this black tea, Li Shimin heard a rumor. It is said that at that time, the Wu family did not have the craft of black tea. They sold green tea directly to Hu merchants. The tea fermented naturally while wandering at sea. When it arrived at the destination, the dry tea became darker in color. , became black tea, because the tea soup produced was red and bright, so it was called black tea.

The Wu family’s black tea almost follows the cake tea process,”

Originally, the merchant thought that this batch of tea was damaged, and he was upset about losing money. He brewed a pot and tried it. He found that it had a unique flavor and added sugar and milk. He found it to be very good, so he promoted it to others as being sold from the East. High-end new black tea, after some promotion by businessmen, this black tea really won the favor of many Hu people. The next year, the Hu businessman quickly sailed back to Guangzhou, specifying that he wanted to buy this kind of black tea, so the Wu family improved the technology according to the requirements of the Hu businessman. , to process this black tea,

"His Majesty,"

Li Shimin quite admired his son-in-law for having such an opinion.

The emperor took a long sip. Compared with the black tea produced in Guangzhou just now, the green tea produced in Hangzhou is indeed more delicious.

You can know autumn by looking at a leaf, and you can know the whole leopard by looking at a spot.

It's slightly bitter, but the tea leaves are really fresh.

"Is it just the three princes?"

And it’s increasing year by year.

Li Shimin asked Xu Luoren to make him another pot of tea.

The emperor picked up the tea cup and put it in front of him, smelling the aroma of tea and looking at the black tea leaves unfolding inside,
Who would have thought that this little leaf could generate millions of tea taxes for the court a year, and how many people in the world would benefit from tea, including tea farmers, tea sellers, tea merchants, and tea craftsmen?
I even heard that the barbarian nomadic tribes are now inseparable from tea, which is as indispensable as salt. Salt can also be produced in the wilderness outside the Great Wall, but tea can only be produced in the Central Plains.

Zhou Daowu didn't know why the emperor suddenly talked to him about this tea, and he always mentioned Wu Huaiyu.

"No."

Zhongshu Ling Ma Zhou was Wu Huaiyu's brother-in-law and the stepfather of Prince Liangyuan Han. Wu Huaiyu had just returned to Beijing, and the two of them lived in the same building.
"Mrs. Yan took her children to the Duke of Jin's Mansion early, but Prime Minister Ma did not go home until very late after working in the province, and did not go to the Duke of Jin's Mansion after returning home."

He knew that although the emperor was not interested in political affairs during his mourning period, he had been paying attention to Wu Huaiyu. Even Wu Huaiyu's request to enter Beijing was approved by the emperor.

Xu Luoren took the Yixing purple clay tea set from the shelf, washed it in boiling water, then poured in tea and brewed it.
The aroma of tea immediately overflows.

The pot of tea has gone cold.

Wu Huaiyu has been running a tea business for ten years, and it has really turned out well. Not only has the Wu family made countless profits, but it has also stimulated a huge tea market and even opened up a huge demand for tea foreign trade. Now the imperial court has to collect this tea tax every year. Millions of strings.

"Where's Wu Huaiyi?"

"This black tea is not as sweet and refreshing as green tea. It has a slightly bitter taste. It is richer and more mellow than green tea. Compared with Tuancha, although it is not bitter and has less green flavor, Tuancha is steamed green tea, and the tea is harvested. The fresh leaves are steamed, mashed, shaped and baked,
Tuancha has lost the true taste of tea leaves, and is different in both aroma and taste. When drinking, pry some off the tea cake, bake it, boil it, and add seasonings.

Tea has become a strategic material.

Li Shimin didn't believe this story and legend. He actually knew very well that before the Wu family made tea, although cake tea was the main product and the main process was steamed green tea, there was no loose tea, but it was also steamed and sun-dried green tea.

"Da Lang, you go to the East Palace and lead the mansion of Prince Zuonei. Let Prince Qianniu prepare himself."

"Yeah," Xu Luoren replied while boiling water on the stove.
The emperor asked one question and then stopped asking.
Xu Luoren waited for the water to boil and took the box of West Lake Longjing.
"Use the Yixing purple clay tea set." The emperor shook his head when he saw that he wanted to use the Yue porcelain tea set.

Since then, this black tea has been favored by more and more Hu merchants, so Lingnan exports have gradually become mainly black tea, and even many people in the Central Plains like to drink black tea.

Zhou Daowu put down his teacup and stepped back.

Up to now, the Wu family's tea has actually become diverse. Even for green tea, there are different techniques such as fried green tea, steamed green tea, roasted green tea, and sun-dried green tea. Even for fried green tea, there are different tea varieties from different origins and different processing methods. , long fried greens, round fried greens, flat fried greens,

"How about this tea?" Li Shimin asked his son-in-law.

The technique improved by Wu Huaiyu is mainly roasted green tea, making loose tea. Later, fermented black tea and black tea bricks were made.

"Didn't Ma Zhou go to Wu's house?"

General Yunhui, General Youwuwei Zhonglang, Inspector Baiqi, Duke Xia of Jiang County, and Xu Luoren of Shangzhu State entered the memorial.
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, along with Han Liangyuan and his grandson Prince Dunhuang, went to Xuanyang Mansion to meet the Duke of Jin,"

Zhou Daowu was a little surprised by the emperor's sudden arrangement, but he quickly nodded in agreement.

"With that box of green tea, West Lake Longjing,"

"A single piece of tea leaves can be processed in so many ways, and there are so many ways to drink it."

"It's true that everyone has their own taste, and they even have their own ways of cooking and drinking it,"

"Xuan Si,"

"I have been thinking about something recently, and I am planning to adjust the Eighth Battalion of the Forbidden Army. From now on, the Eighth Battalion will no longer be affiliated with the left and right garrison guards.
The Hundred Cavalry and Thousand Cavalry were integrated into the Left and Right Yulin Army, and the Flying Cavalry and Shenji were integrated into the Longwu Army."

From now on, the Beiya Imperial Guards will completely break away from the Twelve Guards and Four Prefectures of Nan Ya.

The Eight Battalions of the Fourth Army of Beiya have their own generals, generals, camp envoys, captains, etc.

The Twelve Guards of the South Yamen are the military system of the Guards and are controlled by the imperial court and prime ministers, while the Eighth Battalion of the Fourth Army and the Forbidden Army of the North Yamen are recruited soldiers and are controlled by the emperor. ,

From now on, the general of Nanya will no longer inspect the school and lead the imperial army of Beiya.

Xu Luoren was the emperor's companion who grew up together. He had been accompanying him since the beginning of the army and was an absolute confidant. He had also been guarding the north gate since the Xuanwu Gate.

However, he still asked the Zhonglang of Nanya to inspect the Baiqi Camp at the north gate of the school. From Emperor Wude Chao's Yuancong Forbidden Army, to Emperor Zhenguan's North Gate Left and Right Camps, to the North Gate Eighth Camp, and now the emperor wants to build the Left and Right Yulin Army and the Left and Right Longwu Army,

Xu Luoren vaguely seemed to have touched something, but he still didn't understand it clearly.

Of course, no matter what the emperor thinks and plans, this is not a problem.

In fact, the Emperor's grand tour lasted only half a year. The emperor no longer had to mourn and observe filial piety. The emperor originally replaced the moon with the sun.

The three-year period of filial piety was actually twenty-seven months, so it was normal for the emperor to mourn for twenty-seven days.

But today I still insist on living in mourning,
"Xue Wanche is the general of Yulin on the left, and Li Sheer is the general of Yulin on the right.
Duan Zhixuan is the general of Zuo Longwu, and Qibi Heli is the general of Youlongwu."

The emperor said a few names, "What do you think?"

How could Xu Luoren intervene in such an important matter casually? The general was a third-rank official with real duties, and he was an upright official. The prime minister did not have the power to appoint or remove him, only to elect him.

He thought about the list in his mind. There were four generals, two Han generals and two Hu generals. All five are very brave and famous,
In the previous battle to annihilate Tuyuhun, Xue Wanche and Xue Wanjun were even more famous all over the world. However, Xue Wanjun and Qibi He tried to compete for credit, but in the end, the Jin Dynasty was still granted the title of Duke Zuotunwei General.

And Xue Wanche had already made him a Duke, and this time he made one of his sons a County Marquis based on his merit.

Duan Zhixuan also made great contributions to the conquest of Tuyuhun, and he was older than Xue. He was an old man in the Qin Palace and had been working part-time in command of the Imperial Guard at the North Gate.

Two Hu generals, one Ashina She'er, now named Li She'er, was married to Princess Hengyang, and the other was He Li, who was also married to the head of Lintao County. They were all Hu chiefs who came to join the army. He once established himself as a Khan in the Western Regions.

Qibi Heli had shown unparalleled courage in the previous battles of Chishuiyuan and Tulumqi, and he was the first to capture Fu Yun.

Of course, these two people are also extremely loyal to Tian Khan.

"You have little qualifications and achievements, so you are appointed as the general of Zuo Yulin and the leader of a hundred cavalry. Ashina Zhong is appointed as the right Yulin general."

The Duke of Xue, Ashina Zhong, was the son of the little Khan of DTZ Sabolo. After Jieli was captured, Ashina Zhong came to Beijing. He was also regarded as the hostage of Sabolo Khan and Suni who had lost their friendship. He changed his name after arriving in Beijing. For his loyalty, he performed well for many years, and the emperor also gave him a county lord as his wife.

"Zhang Yanshi was appointed General Zuo Longwu, and Zhi lost Sili was appointed General Youlongwu."

Zhang Yanshi is a member of Fan Yang's Zhang family and is a grandson of Emperor Gaozu. The three brothers of Fan Yang's Zhang family, Master Zhang, Zhang Yanshi and Zhang Yueshi, were called the Three Halberds of the Zhang family by the people at the time. The three brothers are all officials of third rank or above and have always been trusted by the emperor.

As for An Guo Gongzhi's loss of consciousness, he was originally a confidant of Jie Li and the chief of the Blue Turks. After returning to the Tang Dynasty, the emperor married his sister to him and became the consort of Princess Jiujiang.

Xu Luoren found that the emperor's list of eight generals and generals for the four armies of Beiya, four Han and four barbarians, was very balanced.

Especially the four Hus, She'er, Shi Zhong, Qibi Heli, Zhihusi Li, two of them are the county lord, and two are the princess.

Among these four Han generals, Xue Wanche is also the brother-in-law of the current emperor and the consort of Princess Danyang, and Zhang Yanshi is the emperor's nephew.

He Xu Luoren and Duan Zhixuan were both one of the four elders of the emperor's shogunate, and both were childhood friends of the emperor.

"I have little qualifications, so I am afraid that I will not be qualified for this important position. General Habayashi is a third-rank official, and my current Youwuwei Zhonglang General is only a fourth-rank official."

Li Shimin waved his hand, "Your Wu San rank is already a third-grade General Yunhui. Your position as General Zuo Yulin is consistent with your rank, neither higher nor lower."

"Bei Ya camp, this time we need to increase the number of troops, and the officers also need to be adjusted. You are a person I trust. You were my playmate when I was young. You have been with me since the beginning of the army. You have led the guards for many years. I trust you." you,"

······
Xuanyangfang.

The Duke's Mansion of Jin State,

Wu Huaiyu hugged Li Xiang, the eldest grandson of the emperor, and looked at the Dunhuang County Prince who was only half a year old. He had the head of a tiger and a white head. He was fat and very cute. Wu Huaiyu was not afraid at all when he hugged him. He stared at Huaiyu with his big black eyes.

"Call uncle,"

After teasing him a little, he still knows how to laugh, and his smile is very cute.

Prince Cheng Qian stood aside. He seemed to have matured a lot now that he was a father.

In the blink of an eye, this person will be eighteen years old and have children.

I remember when I first met him, he was only eight years old.

Huaiyu looked at Han Yingsu. This niece, who used to be yellow and thin, was now plump and luxurious. A mother is more valuable than a son. She was granted the title of Prince Liangyuan of the Jin Dynasty and was granted the third rank.

As the emperor's eldest grandson, Li Xiang was granted the title of Prince of Dunhuang immediately upon birth, even though he was a concubine. He did not wait until he was three years old as usual.

The title of Duke of Dunhuang is also very special.

After the Li family started fighting, Li Shimin's first title was Duke of Dunhuang, then Duke of Zhao and King of Qin. Li Xiang was granted the title of Duke of Dunhuang, which is extremely special.

In comparison,

Li Xin, who was born a little later than Li Xiang, is the eldest son of Wei Wang Li Tai and Princess Yan Wan, the second son of the emperor. He is also the grandson of Li Shimin.
However, the treatment is not as good as Li Xiang.
On the day Li Xiang was born, the emperor held his grandson and granted him the title of Duke of Dunhuang. However, after Li Xin was born, although Li Shimin and his wife also went to see him, they were not granted the title. They also said that they would wait until he was three years old as usual.

The eldest son of the second wife is not as good as the concubine of the eldest son. The emperor is very different.

The eldest sister Wu Yu'e came over with a smile,

"Erlang, do you think that the little prince looks a bit like you? My aunt is very similar to your uncle, and now her child is also somewhat similar to you."

Cheng Qian smiled beside him and said, "Indeed, I also think the child's nose and mouth look like his uncle's, and his eyebrows and eyes look like mine."

Huaiyu was teasing the little guy when he suddenly felt a burning sensation on his arm.
"The little prince peed," he laughed.

Han Yingsu hurriedly came to hug her, and Mrs. Yan Wu Yu'e said, "I'll change the little prince's diaper. I'll give your uncle a big gift as soon as we meet."

After taking the child away, Cheng Qian proposed to have a private chat with Huai Yu.
"Teacher is in a hurry to return to Beijing this time. He must be worried about Duke Wei, Duke Ying and Duke Langya. Teacher, don't worry about this matter. I will definitely handle it properly."

Bearing Qian’s generous promise,

"I'm really not too worried about Duke Wei, but I'm afraid my father-in-law and General Niu will be in trouble this time."

"The blame for the mistakes in the military period is indeed not small, especially because Li Daoyan, Niu Jinda, and Gao Zhengsheng made mistakes in the military period, which led to Xue Wanche, Xue Wanjun and others being surrounded in Chishuiyuan, losing troops and generals, and even almost losing a general. This matter must be investigated to the end ,

And Duke Fan supervised Tuyuhun, but Murong Shun, the Khan, was killed not long after he was enthroned by the court. This really made the Tang Dynasty lose its face."

Wu Huaiyu said, "Niu Jinda, I think we still have to argue. The main reason for his failure was because Li Daoyan broke his promise and attacked Tuoba Dangxiang in breach of trust. This caused the Dangxiang Qiang to become resentful and not only ambushed and defeated him. , and also blocked Niu Jinda’s advance path, which led to the delay,”

"As for my father-in-law, he had returned to Liangzhou at that time. He sent the general Jiuqe Luosheng, the governor of Kuozhou, to lead his troops to stay and guard him. When Murong Shun was killed, his main responsibility was also Jiuqe Luosheng. My father-in-law should be the secondary responsibility. .”

Cheng Qian nodded, "I support the teacher's opinion,"

With these words, Wu Huaiyu was much relieved.

(End of this chapter)