A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 960 Longyuan wins over snow
North of Chang'an City,

Outside Fanglin Gate, Wu Huaiyu saw his father-in-law Fan Xing as soon as he left the city gate on horseback.

Fan Xing was a little haggard after not seeing him for a long time. When he saw him from a distance, he came forward and said, "Erlang,"

"Aye has been here a long time ago?"

"I just arrived. I'm waiting for you to meet me at Xi Neiyuan."

Fan Xing has been dealt with, and it can be regarded as a stone falling to the ground, but it is still a bit sad to say, "Aye, I am in trouble this time,"

"There will inevitably be thorns on the road, but smoothing out the bumps will lead to a high road."

"Hahaha, that's right. I've been through all the ups and downs in my life. I've never seen any big storms. I was careless this time. The saint was generous and didn't give me a hard time. I'm already very grateful."

From the Governor of Lizhou to the Governor of Lizhou, General Youjianmen was dismissed. Disappointment is inevitable, but after all, he was punished with death, but now this result is considered a blessing.

"Dalang, I came here to meet your grandfather,"

Of course, according to the court's practice, after he is defeated, Jisi Prefecture will definitely be established in his own area, and Tuoba Chi may even be given an official title.

Fan Xing was very curious about Wu Chengsi who came with Wu Huaiyu today, and even smiled and punched him a few times.

The imperial court will definitely send troops to conquer Tuoba Chici next.

Among the eight tribes, the Tuoba tribe is the most powerful.

From the Sui Dynasty to the early Tang Dynasty,

Niu Jinda used to be the governor of Songzhou and got along well with Dangxiang Qiang, but he also knew the habits of these Dangxiang people. They cared about food but not about beating.
Dangxiang is a branch of the Qiang people. The most famous ones today are the Xifeng clan, Feiting clan, Quangli clan, Pochao clan, Yeli clan, Miqin clan and Tuoba clan. In addition, there are Heidangxiang, Snow Mountain Dangxiang and other tribes.

In the Zhenguan Dynasty, after the Tang Dynasty destroyed DTZ, the imperial court stationed troops in Longyou and began to oppress Dangxiang, beating and pacifying at the same time. The effect was good. In the third year of Zhenguan, Zheng Yuanxuan, the governor of Nanhui Prefecture, summoned Dangxiang to surrender, and the leader of the fine seal department, Xi Feng Bu Lai He led his troops to surrender first, and the imperial court established Guizhou in the area, and made Bu Lai the governor.
Under his leadership, four more tribes surrendered, and the imperial court established four prefectures: Min, Feng, Yan, and Yuan, with the former chiefs of each tribe serving as governors.

Tribes from various Dangxiang tribes joined the Tang Dynasty one after another, and many tribes even moved inland. However, most of the Dangxiang tribes still attached themselves to Tuyuhun and often raided and plundered the borders of the Tang Dynasty.

But he didn't blame others.

"In the final analysis, it is still the matter of these party members, especially Tuoba Chici. He is Fu Yun's in-laws, and he and Fu Yun were brothers. This guy has ulterior motives, and this time he just used Li Daoyan to attack Just starting from the beginning, now that Tuyuhun is in chaos, Tuoba Chici is very excited.

The two were joking, and Niu Jinda also came.
Lao Niu is quite free and easy. When they meet, he gives Wu Huaiyu a bear hug first.
The Langya County Duke was demoted to Jingzhou Governor this time, and was dismissed from the rank of General Youwuwei. He was simply tricked by Li Daoyan.

"Oh, my eldest grandson has grown so tall. I heard that your kid has been overseas, so he has seen big storms."

After the Tuyuhun War this year, the imperial court also issued an edict to open up the Hequ area into sixteen states, with 340,000 people attached to the party.

However, Xiang Qiang, a party led by Tuoba Chici, was still hostile to the Tang Dynasty.

The imperial court had suffered a loss this time, and of course it would not give up so easily. Even if Li Daoyan and others were dealt with, since Tuoba Chici and others dared to attack the Tang army and block the road, they could not stop the war once it started. ,

If the imperial court wants to bring peace to Tuyuhun, it must first subdue Dangxiang. If it wants to subdue Dangxiang, it must first subdue Tuoba Chici. It is not enough to just appease Huaien. "

Rebellion is uncommon.

But being able to set up Jizhou is also a sign of enhanced control.

Wu Huaiyu smiled and nodded.

"Erlang, do you think you can help me ask the saint for a convenience, so that I can lead the troops to regain ground with Dang Xiang Qiang?"

But these are also Jisuzhou.

Niu Jinda now wants to find his place back.
It's obviously impossible,
After all, according to Wu Huaiyu's guess, Fan Xing and Niu Jinda did not make a mistake when they came down this time, but the emperor wanted to take the opportunity to adjust them.

Otherwise, why did Xue Wanjun and Qibi Heli both draw their knives when competing for merit on the front line, and then quarreled in the Golden Palace, but in the end they were not punished, and both were promoted to generals and Dukes of the Jin Dynasty?

The imperial court will definitely send troops to attack Tuoba Chici, but now it is obvious that this task will be handed over to Hou Junji. This is also an opportunity for Hou Junji to make meritorious deeds.

The emperor wanted to reuse Hou Junji again.

If Hou Junji has the ability, he should kill Tuoba Chici, which will be a greater deterrent to Dangxiang Qiang. However, Wu Huaiyu predicts that with the current chaotic situation in Tuyuhun and the fact that the Tubo people are already watching, Hou Jun Ji may not bother to investigate Tuoba Chici anymore. It would be good if he can send troops to fight one or two victorious battles.

In the end, caressing is inevitable.

He remembered that this was the result in history. Tuoba Chici was defeated, and everyone rebelled and separated from his relatives. All tribes, and even his nephews, asked for money from the Tang Dynasty. In the end, Tuoba Chici had no choice but to surrender, and the imperial court divided his territory into thirty In the second state, Tuoba Chici was appointed the governor of Xirong Prefecture, was given a national surname, and was granted the title of Duke Xiping.
Dangxiang Zhuqiang established fifty-two Jisi prefectures.
Although Tuoba Chi was the last to resign and join, in the end he had the highest official rank. In the final analysis, strength was the most important thing. , and in the end he just got a governorship.

Tuoba Chici's tribe was large, with many people and strong soldiers and horses. Lao Chici had a good relationship with Tuyuhun Khan Fuyun in the past. They became sworn brothers and became relatives of their children. Even if they were defeated and surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, the territory and troops would still be there. , the court still wants to appease,
Not only were they granted the title of governor, but they were also given a national surname and the title of county prince. They enjoyed the same treatment as Xi and the Khitan chiefs.

"Hou Junji has completely turned around this time," Niu Jinda sighed.

Wu Huaiyu just smiled.

After all, in the era of imperial power, no matter how many mistakes a minister made, as long as he did not rebel against the emperor, it was not a matter of a word if the emperor wanted to use him.

At the beginning, Hou Junji was also beaten by Wu Huaiyu and others in a miserable state. He was dismissed and demoted along the way. He was the deputy governor of Anxi and the Sima of Guangzhou. Later he became the governor of Yongzhou, but Wu Huaiyu took the opportunity and took him away from his post. Send to Chang'an,
Finally, he was demoted to Jingzhou.
But people can still turn around.

The people who gained the most from the Battle of Tuyuhun were Hou Junji, Xue Wanjun, Xue Wanche, Qibi Heli, and Li Daozong.
The rest of the generals, such as Chai Shao, Li Junxian, and Zhi lost their thoughts, were just soy sauce.

Li Daoyan, Gao Zengsheng, Fan Xing, Niu Jinda, Jiuqie Luosheng and others were even more unlucky to be exiled, demoted and demoted.
Niu Jinda has now reached the same level as his son Niu Jianwu.

Niu Jianwu is now also the governor of Quanzhou. He was demoted to the governor of Jingzhou. Jingzhou is not as good as Quanzhou.

"My eldest son has been supported by Erlang all these years,"

"Jian Wu and I are good brothers. Besides, what he has achieved today is all due to his ability. He fought many battles in Lingnan and made many achievements. Even when he went to Quanzhou, he helped me. He supported the scene to put out the fire, and now Quanzhou is becoming more and more prosperous, and he was the first to do so."

The two laughed, understanding each other tacitly.

Without Wu Huaiyu's full support, Niu Jianwu would not have been able to go from being the third guard to the current governor in ten years.
The three of them waited for a while, but did not see Li Jing.
Fan Xing said, "Let's go. I guess Duke Wei will not be able to go out because of his serious leg problem."

Everyone went to the emperor,

It was expected that Li Jing would not come. As for Li Jing's leg ailment, he had suffered from it from time to time since the Wude Dynasty. But Li Jing's raid on DTZ from the north of Saibei, and then to Tuyuhun, where he fought thousands of miles away, he was always getting stronger. The frontier fortress battlefield was thousands of miles away. , and it will be so difficult to walk.

Li Jing just used this as an excuse not to come out again.
The emperor also knew what Li Jing meant.

When they came to the thatched cottage where Li Shimin stayed temporarily, the emperor did not care about Li Jing's absence. Instead, he sent his chamberlain to the Duke Wei's Mansion in Pingkangfang to deliver medicine and supplements, and also gave him a carriage and a horse. Lingxi staff.

"Erlang will also go to the Duke of Wei's mansion tomorrow to visit your teacher and help Wei disclose a prescription for recuperation. He is very old. This time, the court bothered him to lead the army to conquer Tuyuhun. It was really hard on him. Now he is framed. , which wronged him even more,"

Li Jing, for his role in destroying Tuyuhun, could not say he was aggrieved by naming one of his sons as county marquis.

"On behalf of Teacher, I would like to thank Your Majesty for your concern."

"What kind of tea?" the emperor asked,

Wu Huaiyu got up and boiled water to make tea. It was as natural as before, just like before. Li Shimin looked at his movements and felt as if he was back to the past.

These few years,
The relationship seems to be a little distant.

He even began to be a little wary of Wu Huaiyu. It was not that he didn't believe him, but that he believed in that sentence: Children with gold on the road, all people are devils, Veda stands with a pestle on his side, and all devils are saints.

Emperor Gaozu once told him that the loyalty of the vast majority of people was only because there was not enough bargaining chip for betrayal, or there was no chance at all.

So I can’t give this chance,

This is just like Yang Jian. As the twelfth general of the Western Wei Dynasty, the Yang family assisted the Yuwen family in creating the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and later became a relative of the emperor. Yang Jian was also deeply favored by the country, and he was definitely not double-minded at the beginning. , but later he gradually gained enough leverage for betrayal, and when the time came, he even dared to usurp the dynasty of his daughter and grandson.

Wu Huaiyu chose the Jianzhou tribute tea from the tea cabinet in the emperor's thatched cottage, and the dragon group beat the snow.

This tea is produced in Jianzhou and also from the Wu family tea garden. This tea is specially produced as a tribute to the royal family.

The pattern of dragons and phoenixes flying on the surface is still made of silver silk ice buds.
"This tea is good," Li Shimin said with a smile when he saw him choosing this one. "Huaiyu is a master of tea. I heard that the people respect him as the Saint of Tea. Come and tell us about this tea."

"Your Majesty, there are three main grades of tea leaves used for famous teas, namely purple buds, medium buds and small buds. Purple buds means that the tea leaves are purple. Considering the purple bamboo shoots, purple buds are the most commonly used.

The middle bud means one leaf and one bud, also known as one flag and one shot. One shot is about to become a leaf, and all the grasses are too shy to flower.

The small buds are the newly grown tea buds, shaped like a sparrow's tongue and an eagle's claw. Many teas are named after the sparrow's tongue and are made of this kind of small buds.

But among these three kinds of tea, there is a better one, which is the most delicate of the small buds, which is like a needle. This kind is called water bud, or ice bud. Many famous teas use this kind of bud. , also known as Yin Hao, Zhen Hao, etc.

This Dragon Tuan Shengxue is made from the finest ice buds. Because the tea is as white as snow, it is also called Dragon Tuan Shengxue. "

This tea is not just a gimmick;
Pick out the ripe buds and take out only a strand of the heart. Store it in a precious vessel stained by clear spring water. It will be as bright and clear as silver threads. A new square-inch chau is made, with a small dragon winding on it, and the dragon group beats the snow.

Each kilogram is worth 40,000 yuan.

This dough was finally made into sixteen cakes per kilogram, and each cake cost two gold.

A cake of tea costs sixteen guan, and the cake only weighs one or two. This tea is twice as expensive as gold.

However, the most special thing about this tea is not that one cake is worth two gold, but that it is rare, and only thirty-six kilograms of it was paid as tribute to the palace.

Nothing else.

The dragon group beats the snow, and it is purely for the royal family.

Of course, the emperor would also reward his ministers, but it was only a small amount in total. Even if he only rewarded one cake at a time, it would only be about 500 cakes.

So now this tea is brought to the palace as tribute every year, and the emperor rewards meritorious officials and relatives, but only a few people can get it.

This makes this tea even more precious.

After all, you can’t drink it if you have money, and you can’t drink it if you have status.

But for Wu Huaiyu, although he likes tea, the Wu family has developed many famous teas over the years. Although Long Tuan Shengxue is only a tribute to the palace, of course the Wu family also has similar teas, but they don’t use this brand and don’t use that packaging. .

The Wu family has brands such as Longyuan Shengxue, Longyuan Silver Silk, and Longyuan Bingya. The prices are also very expensive. For example, Longyuan Shengxue sells for two gold per cake.

Wu Huaiyu himself doesn't often drink this kind of shockingly expensive tea. He thinks Ziya is already pretty good. Excessive pursuit of it is actually nothing more than hype and marketing, and a kind of psychological satisfaction.

Li Shimin liked this tea quite a bit, but not that much. In fact, the emperor liked to drink milk tea.

Add milk and salt, add some fried rice, and some sugar. It is rich and mellow, refreshing and can satisfy your hunger.

"One cake and two gold. This tea is too precious. Bringing this tea to the palace as tribute will easily lead to extravagance. Moreover, you spend too much on paying tribute every year."

Wu Huaiyu smiled and said, "Actually, the tea garden has made money, really."

Wu Huaiyu smiled and explained to the emperor the secret, which was nothing more than the blessing of brand effect, and then there would be market and economic benefits.

After Long Tuan Sheng Xue became famous as a tribute tea, the Wu Family's Long Yuan series of tea brands followed suit and successfully entered the high-end tea market, even selling extremely well.

It is difficult to make a high-end brand. It does not mean that the tea is of good quality. The most important thing is to be popular among high-end people.

And with the name of tribute tea and the advertisement of "Queen", Longtuan Shengxue successfully promoted the Longyuan series.
The thirty-six kilograms of Longtuan Shengxue that were paid as tribute to the royal family in a year seemed to be given away in vain. Thirty-six kilograms in a year was more than nine thousand kuan.
But of course the actual cost is not that high. The labor cost of 40,000 yuan per kilogram is actually just for external advertising. This tea, tea leaves, labor, packaging, etc. are indeed not cheap, but they are not that expensive.

The Dragon Tuan Shengxue tribute cost more than 9,000 guan, but in actual calculation, it only cost 1,000 guan.

This cost, the advertising fee for Wujia's Longyuan Shengxue and other series of tea stalls, is actually not much. After all, even the limited edition Longyuan Shengxue can sell thousands of cakes a year, and one cake is just Two taels of gold. Although the other models are cheaper, they have high profits and large sales.

These things are not silver strands of ice buds, they are just platinum buds, just like robbing money.

The emperor said before that the annual tea tax in the Tang Dynasty now exceeds one million guan. He estimated that the Wu family, as the leader in the tea industry, would make a lot of money a year.
It's true, the Wu family has made a lot of money in the tea industry for a long time. Even the royal family has been advertising Wu family tea. The high-end tea brands of the Wu family are all tribute series. The tribute teas that Wu Huaiyu gives to the royal family every year , It’s really not for nothing.

"Huaiyu, this battle of Tuyuhun was very successful. The commander of Wei Gong was extraordinary, and the generals were also extremely brave. Of course, you also have great achievements,"

The emperor held the tea cup and said, "Your magical firearm played a very crucial role in the battle to destroy Tuyuhun. Tell me, what reward do you want?"

(End of this chapter)