Yang Erya quickly raised his head, but the meteor had already passed, but soon another meteor streaked across the night sky, dragging a long trail! Seeing this scene, Yang Erya couldn't help but feel slightly moved. Yang Peng said: "Legend has it that meteors are formed from human souls. After a person dies, his soul will turn into a meteor and go away!" Yang Erya's heart trembled, "Such a beautiful star is actually the human soul!" Yang Peng suddenly laughed, "It's just a legend!"
Yang Erya looked at the starry sky and said in a daze: "If after death, the soul will turn into a meteor and go away, then where will it end up?" Yang Peng said with a smile: "Maybe there is a world in heaven and earth, where people can meet again. !”
Yang Erya lowered his head and thought: "This is great, we can be together forever!" Then she looked towards Yang Peng, who happened to be looking at her too. Their eyes met, and neither one spoke. . Yang Erya suddenly became shy and lowered his head.
Early the next morning, Yang Peng held a meeting with the generals in the camp hall. Yang Erya, whose condition had improved greatly, also came. Everyone had heard about the meticulous care King Yan had taken over Yang Erya in the past few days, and they felt in their hearts that General Yang Erya would also become the princess! The glances he looked at Yang Erya were full of congratulations. Yang Erya was so frightened by the gazes of everyone that her heart was pounding, and her pretty face turned red involuntarily. She was so beautiful!
Yang Peng said to everyone: "I am very pleased with what I have seen and heard in the past few days. You have done a good job, even better than I expected!" Everyone was happy and clasped their fists together and said: "This is due to the mighty virtue of King Yan. Next Officials (late generals dare not take credit!" This is the general etiquette under the rule of the emperor. Regardless of civil and military affairs, as long as there is merit, the credit will go to the king. Yang Peng said with a smile: "I am not a god. There are so many wonderful uses for energy!”
Yang Jing, who had been impatient for a long time, immediately said loudly: "Brother is right! What kind of bullshit power is caused by this bullshit? It's just bullshit!" He glanced at everyone and said, "Can you guys stop flattering me!" Everyone Being snatched away by Yang Jing made me feel quite embarrassed.
Yang Peng said angrily: "Yang Jing, don't be nagging!" Yang Jing curled his lips and stopped talking. Yang Peng pointed to Du Cheng, who was standing under Zhang Xiaochun on the right, and said: "You all must know this Mr. Du. From today on, he is Shanxi Xuanwei Envoy, in charge of all internal affairs of Shanxi!" As soon as these words came out, Zhang Xiaochun was greatly moved. Shocked, he originally coveted this position and had been jumping up and down a lot during this period, but he didn't expect that he would actually fall into Du Cheng's hands! ?
Du Cheng came out of the queue to pay homage to Yang Peng and said loudly: "The King of Yan loves me so much that I will serve my whole life until I die!" Yang Peng smiled and nodded. Du Cheng turned around and bowed to the civil and military officials, "Please take good care of me in the future!" Everyone responded with a few polite words. Zhang Xiaochun came back to his senses and stared at Du Cheng with very malicious eyes. He thought he must be the one behind it. That's why this good job as Governor of Shanxi fell into his hands! Yang Jing said carelessly: "I don't know how to take care of you! If you dare to take bribes and pervert the law, I will chop off your dog's head with an axe!"
Everyone laughed. Du Cheng said quickly: "Your subordinates will never take bribes and bend the law. Don't worry, general!" Yang Dezheng said angrily: "Even if you take bribes and bend the law, it should be punished by the King of Yan. How can Brother Yang Jing rashly lynching!"
Yang Jing said loudly: "If the eldest brother is bending the law for personal gain, I, Yang Jing, don't need this axe!" Everyone laughed. Yang Peng didn't know whether he was joking or said seriously: "If that day comes, Yang Jing, you should chop me up with this axe!" Everyone's hearts froze, but Yang Jing agreed very much: "That's right! If the eldest brother behaves recklessly, Even with this pair of axes, I won’t spare my eldest brother! At worst, after killing my eldest brother, I, Yang Jing, will also commit suicide!”
Yang Erya said angrily: "Brother Yang Jing is really talking nonsense!" Yang Jing's eyes widened, "Sister, you can't protect your brother just because you like him!"
Yang Erya didn't expect that Yang Jing would say such a thing, so he was very embarrassed and said angrily: "What are you talking about?" Seeing Yang Peng looking at him with a puzzled face, he became even more embarrassed. Yang Jing scratched his head in confusion, "Did I make a mistake? In fact, you don't like Big Brother! But everyone says you do!"
Everyone suppressed their laughter, Yang Erya just wanted to beat that blackhead hard to get rid of his hatred, and was so panicked that he was completely at a loss. Yang Peng laughed and said: "Don't talk about these things in the meeting hall!" Then he said: "I plan to leave Bingzhou tomorrow. Regarding Shanxi affairs, I will naturally obey Yang Yanzhao in the military, and Du Cheng will make the decision in government affairs." They agreed in unison. "It will take a few days for Han Bing to arrive in Bingzhou. Dalang will temporarily act as the governor for the next few days." Chen Jie clasped his fists in agreement.
At this time, the secret guard captain Wang Kai rushed in from outside and handed over a letter, "Master, there is a letter from Shaanxi." Yang Peng took the letter, opened it, took out the letter paper, opened it, and read got up. Everyone stared at Yang Peng. The hall was very quiet and you could hear a needle drop.
Yang Peng finished reading the letter and frowned: "The Khitans handed over the northern part of Qingfeng Road and Yongxing Military Road to the Xixia people, but handed the southern part back to the Song people!" The so-called Yongxing Military Road is basically what is now Shaanxi. , and Qingfeng Road is now the southern half of Gansu Province.
After listening to Yang Peng's words, everyone immediately started talking. Du Cheng frowned and said: "The Khitan people obviously have bad intentions in doing this! This strategy is really wonderful!" Yang Jing glared and said: "How wonderful! I can't see what's so wonderful!"
Yang Peng joked: "If Yang Jing can see it, it won't be a trick!" Everyone laughed, and Yang Jing also grinned, "Big brother still understands me!" Yang Peng said: "There is one more thing, Khitan They also handed over Shanxi to Xixia and signed a formal document." Many people felt baffled, and Yang Jing shouted: "The Khitan people are really baffled! They have lost Shanxi, how can they give Shanxi to others?" Then he laughed Said: "You still say that I, Yang Jing, are talking nonsense, and the Khitans are talking nonsense!"
Du Cheng frowned and said: "I'm afraid that's not the case! This is clearly a plan of the Khitans to sow discord. They handed over Shanxi to Xixia just because they wanted Xixia to fight with us. From now on, the fight between us and Xixia will be inevitable. Come on!" Only then did everyone understand the Khitan people's thoughts, and they couldn't help but feel that this plan of the Khitan people was really vicious! Yang Jing curled his lips and said, "Come on, come on. We are not afraid of the Khitans, so why are we afraid of the Xixia people? If you pissed me off, I rushed into the Xixia palace with two axes and chopped off the head of the Xixia emperor!" "Everyone laughed, and Huyan Chijin and Yang Gui said in unison: "Yang Jing said it well!" Yang Jing was very proud to see someone recognizing his words.
Yang Peng smiled and did not continue talking about this matter, but talked about other things. Soon after, Yang Peng said: "If you have nothing to do, just go about your business!" The civil and military officials looked at each other, gave Yang Peng a fist, and then filed out of the hall.
Yang Peng suddenly raised his voice and said: "Erya, you stay." Everyone showed a knowing smile, but Yang Erya turned red with embarrassment.
Everyone left, and only Yang Erya and Yang Peng were left in the hall. Yang Erya's heart was pounding and she thought to herself: What will eldest brother do if you leave me behind? Could it be that he was angry because of what Brother Yang Jing said just now? Thinking of this, I suddenly became very uneasy.
Yang Peng stood up and walked to Yang Erya. Yang Erya lowered his head, not daring to look at Yang Peng, and was so panicked. Yang Peng leaned down and whispered something in Yang Erya's ear. Yang Erya immediately stared at Yang Peng with wide eyes, and then her pretty face suddenly turned red, her beautiful eyes trembling, clearly filled with infinite shyness and joy. He quickly lowered his head and played with the corners of his clothes with his delicate hands.
Yang Peng said: "Sister Yang Erya, what on earth do you mean? Just say something!" Yang Erya lowered her head and blushed and said in a voice like a gnat: "I, I have no objection!" After saying this, I just wanted to find a hole in the ground to crawl into, but I turned around and ran away. Yang Peng looked at Yang Erya's beautiful back, rubbed his nose, smiled, and murmured: "Hey! You are such a pest!" Looking back, he thought about his confidante who had followed him since he came to this world. I couldn't help but sigh, a little worried that I couldn't make each of them feel happy. He couldn't help but sigh, "Hey, it's really difficult to be a man, especially a good man! Haha."
There were rapid footsteps outside. Yang Peng put his messy thoughts behind and looked outside. He saw the chubby and round Dunan leading a tall and thin young man over. The two of them were standing beside him. He was whispering something while walking, but he couldn't hear the content clearly. When they arrived at the door, they heard Du Nan whisper: "Follow me to meet eldest brother! Don't be rude!" Then he led the tall and thin man in, clasped his fists and bowed to Yang Peng: "Brother, I will follow your instructions. Bai Tong brought it!"
Bai Tong hurriedly bowed: "Common people pay homage to His Highness King Yan!" Yang Peng smiled and stepped forward to help Bai Tong up, "I heard from Du Nan that you are a very outstanding talent! When I saw you today, you really have a good temperament. !”
Bai Tong glanced at Du Nan gratefully. No wonder he was grateful to Du Nan. There are many friends in the world, but friends who are truly willing to share weal and woe with you are very rare. Most people, on the surface, are friends. In fact, who doesn’t want you to live worse than him secretly, or even the worse the better? Bai Tong clasped his fists towards Yang Peng and said, "The King of Yan has made such a ridiculous compliment, and the common people cannot bear it!" Yang Peng said with a smile, "There is no need for those who are talented to belittle themselves!" "Yes!"
Yang Peng returned to the desk, picked up the letter he had just received, and handed it to Du Nan, "This is the information I just received. Take a look." Du Nan quickly took it with both hands, and then He couldn't wait to take out the letter and read it, while Bai Tong craned his neck to look at it. After reading it, Dunan handed the letter back to Yang Peng. Yang Peng asked with a smile: "What do you think?"
The two looked at each other, Bai Tong clasped his fists and said: "The Khitan people's purpose is very clear, they want to gather everyone's strength to deal with us!" Du Nan continued: "The most obvious behavior is to cede Shanxi to Xixia. It is clearly The tactic of killing someone with a borrowed knife! I guess the Khitan envoys are already active in Xixia and Song Dynasty at this moment!" Bai Tong nodded.
Yang Peng thought for a moment and asked: "Do you think the Xixia and Song Dynasties were caught in a trap?" Bai Tong said: "Although the Song Dynasty is afraid of us now, it is only afraid of becoming more jealous! Naturally, their family alone does not dare to make any changes. However, As long as the Liao Kingdom and Xixia start moving, the Song Kingdom will definitely not be left alone!" Du Nan continued: "Bai Tong is right! So will the Xixia people fall into the trap? I think the Xixia people have already bitten the Khitans and surrendered. Otherwise, how could the Xixia people accept the gift from the Khitan people? If my estimate is correct, the Xixia envoy may already be on the way to us!"
Yang Peng nodded and glanced at Du Nan, "So, how should we deal with it?"
Dunan said: "Diplomatic means are naturally indispensable. Let's see if we can bribe the powerful officials of these countries so that they will not form a close alliance to deal with us! However, I estimate that the effect of this method is limited. The final solution to the problem is Or military means!"
Yang Peng frowned, "For now, the Khitans are our main threat, the Song Dynasty is weak, and Xixia has no enmity with us. Is it true that diplomacy cannot eliminate the threats in these two directions?"
Dunan shook his head, "I'm afraid it's difficult! Unless the other party doesn't want to fight with us, once we have this intention, if we go to negotiate peace with them, it will be regarded as cowardice and make them even more aggressive! Therefore, diplomacy may work , but brother, you can’t place too many expectations, you must make military preparations! As the saying goes, ‘Be prepared for any danger’!”
Yang Peng smiled and said, "Of course." Then he fell into deep thought again. Du Nan and Bai Tong looked at Yang Peng, neither daring to speak. Early the next morning, Yang Peng left Bingzhou and went to inspect near Yanmen Pass. After that, he turned back to Yanjing. Since entering the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun, all the scenery has been completely different from that of the Central Plains. There are bright and peaceful spring scenes everywhere, people have smiles on their faces, and the streets are extremely prosperous. Du Nan and Bai Tong couldn't help but marvel when they saw this situation, and they admired Yang Peng even more. Before, the two of them only thought that King Yang Peng of Yan was a powerful and invincible hero, but now they knew that he was even more amazing in governing the country, and they admired him deeply.
Yang Peng returned to Yanjing and rested for two days. At the same time, Du Nan and Bai Tong devoted themselves to understanding Yanyun's administrative system and people's livelihood. After two days, what they learned made them admire Yang Peng. After reaching a higher level, I just felt that King Yang Peng of Yan was really an amazing hero.
Yang Peng rested in Yanjing for two days and then went south to the Huaihe River. In addition to the secret guards, they were accompanied by Du Nan and Bai Tong. Yang Peng had high expectations for them, so he kept them with him during this period. The group took several large boats to go out to sea along the Sanggan River, and then headed south along the coast to Lianghuai.
Along the way, Yang Peng, Du Nan, and Bai Tong chatted about the South China Sea and the North, from human geography to historical legends, from society and people's livelihood to state governance, from dynasty changes to foreign countries. In the process of chatting, Yang Peng discovered that Du Nan was better than Bai Tong in terms of knowledge and knowledge. In fact, Bai Tong was also a unique genius, but he seemed to be overshadowed by Du Nan. Du Nan's concept that "the world belongs to the people of the world, and the so-called kings throughout the ages have only used the people of the world to satisfy their selfish desires" especially impressed Yang Peng, and made Yang Peng value him even more, because let alone this era, even if Hundreds of years later, people with such thoughts will be very rare. Confucian thoughts have long poisoned the world in all aspects!
Unconsciously, the fleet sailed into the Huaihe River, and then went south along the canal to Yangzhou. Although the spring scenery was bright and beautiful along the way, the conditions we saw were far inferior to those in the Yanyun Sixteenth Prefecture. Lianghuai, which should have been very prosperous, gave people the impression of being a bit withered. Years of war have destroyed the society here. Economy, and at the same time, people are fleeing their hometowns in large numbers. It is difficult for the two Huaihe Rivers to avoid being withered and dilapidated!
The fleet entered Yangzhou Pier, and Duan Zhixian and Cheng Shijie, who had already received the news, had been waiting on the pier for a long time. As soon as they saw Yang Peng's boat, the two of them immediately became excited.
The building boat docked, and Yang Peng and others stepped off the building boat. Duan Zhixian and Cheng Shijie hurriedly greeted them. The three of them couldn't help but be very happy to see each other, clapped each other's arms and laughed a lot. Duan Zhixian said loudly: "Brother, the banquet has been prepared. Let's go have a drink!" Yang Peng nodded and said: "Okay! Let's have a drink!" Several people got on their horses and headed towards the city, followed by Du Nan, Bai Tong and the guards. is behind.
Yang Peng looked at the situation on the dock. There were not many goods and not many people. When he walked into Yangzhou City, he saw only a few pedestrians on the wide streets and most of the shops on both sides were closed. This really didn't seem like a legend. That southern paradise where Emperor Yang of the Middle Sui Dynasty sailed his thousand-mile dragon boat down to Jiangdu!
"Zhixian, Cheng Shijie, have you implemented the policy according to my instructions?" Yang Peng asked.
Duan Zhixian said with some annoyance: "We have already implemented the policy of exempting tariffs and agricultural taxes according to the instructions of the elder brother, but the effect is not very good. We don't know what happened?" Cheng Shijie continued: "We have already implemented the policy of exempting customs and agricultural taxes according to the instructions of the elder brother. , but I don’t know why, so many days have passed, but not many people have come back, and there is no progress in business! I really don’t know where the problem lies? "
Du Nan, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly asked: "General, do you implement these policies yourself, or do you send someone to do it?" Duan Zhixian and Cheng Shijie both looked at him, and Duan Zhixian asked in confusion: "You Who are you? Why didn't I see you at home yesterday?" Yang Peng then remembered and introduced: "This is Du Nan, who is also my sworn brother..." The two of them suddenly realized, clasping their fists together and saying, "Since it is the eldest brother's. Brother, that's our brother too!" Duan Zhixian said again: "Brother Du, you don't have to call us general, just call me brother Duan!" Then he pointed at Cheng Shijie, "This Cheng Shijie, just call him second brother!" Du Nan was happy in his heart, clasped his fists and said, "Brother Duan, second brother!" The two of them smiled.
Yang Peng pointed at Bai Tong again, "This is Bai Tong. He is a friend of Du Nan. Both of them are my staff officers." Bai Tong quickly clasped his fists and said, "I have seen two generals!" Duan Zhixian and Cheng Shijie clicked. Nodding, Cheng Shijie said: "Mr. Bai, you're welcome!"
Du Nan said to Duan Zhixian: "Brother Duan hasn't answered the younger brother's question yet?" Duan Zhixian smiled and said: "How can Cheng Shijie and I understand those trivial matters in government affairs? Naturally, they are left to those civil servants." "Civil officials." Are they still the same officials?" Duan Zhixian nodded, "Of course."
Du Nan frowned and said, "I'm afraid the problem lies with these officials." Both Duan Zhixian and Cheng Shijie looked puzzled, but Yang Peng understood what Du Nan meant, "You mean, those officials are acting in disguise?" Du Nan nodded, "I'm afraid that's probably the case! Those officials were all officials of the Song Dynasty before. Later they took refuge in the Ming Cult, and now they have taken refuge in the eldest brother. They are so inconsistent, one can imagine their character! I'm afraid these people are all They are guys who are used to hiding things from their superiors and bullying their subordinates. They are flattering to their superiors, but they are very vicious and unwilling to do anything serious to their subordinates. That is why many of Big Brother’s policies are not implemented anymore!”
Duan Zhixian and Cheng Shijie couldn't help but became furious when they heard this. Duan Zhixian cursed: "Are these frustrated birds tired of living?" Bai Tong said quickly: "General, calm down! What Du Nan said is just a speculation. What is the reality now? , still needs to be investigated!" Duan Zhixian raised his eyebrows and said loudly: "It's nothing to investigate! It must be like this! ******, I asked you why there is still no improvement in these two areas after so long. It turns out that those The bastard is playing tricks with the yesterday’s family, it’s really abominable! It’s really damnable!”
Yang Peng said angrily: "Duan Zhixian, please stop yelling! It's useless!" Cheng Shijie nodded, "Brother is right, we have to find a way to solve the problem! If we can't handle these problems well, we will There is no difference between the dog officers we scolded in the past!" Duan Zhixian pointed at his nose and asked depressedly: "Second brother, are you saying that we have also become dog officers? That's not true!"
Yang Peng said angrily: "Second brother is saying that we have to deal with the problem!" Duan Zhixian nodded and said: "Of course!" Then he raised his thick eyebrows and said, "This matter is also easy, just catch all those dog officials and kill them. !" Yang Peng shouted: "Don't talk nonsense!" Duan Zhixian scratched his bald head and said blankly: "Where did you talk nonsense yesterday?" Yang Peng said angrily: "The matter has not been investigated clearly, and the charges are not yet certain, how can you kill people indiscriminately? Now is not the time to be a hero on the green forest road and just kill anyone you don’t like! Now you have to follow rules when dealing with problems, just like you treat soldiers. You can’t just kill anyone you don’t like, right? If he didn’t break the military law, No matter what, you can't act willfully, otherwise you will have violated military law! The same principle applies locally!"
Duan Zhixian patted his head and said with an embarrassed look on his face: "Eldest brother is right, yesterday's family was at fault! This matter is really a headache!" Then he said depressedly: "My second brother and I only care about the army, this place The matter above is really unclear. Brother, you should send someone else here!" Yang Peng said with a smile: "I have my own plan." Cheng Shijie said: "The most important thing now is to have the supervision department send some people over as soon as possible. , if they are here, I believe the local officials will be restrained a lot!" Yang Peng smiled bitterly and said: "I think so, but now the Central Plains and Shanxi are still short of manpower, and I am afraid it will be difficult to take care of the two Huaihe Rivers in a short time!"
What happened after all, let’s see what happens next.
