Yang Hong's legs were bad and would hurt every winter. This was an old injury left on the battlefield in his early years. Therefore, at least two stoves were always burning in his bedroom.
The soft sound of crackling charcoal fire sounded in the room, and snowflakes were falling sporadically outside the window.
Feeling his father's calm gaze, Yang Jie couldn't help but sigh.
Although he and his father spend less time together and more time apart.
However, he could clearly feel that his father was angry!
As for the reason, of course it was because of his ridiculous third brother, Yang Jun.
In fact, although his father would never admit it, Yang Jie knew in his heart that the third brother was always the most beloved in his father's heart.
There are four children in the Yang family, Yang Jie is the youngest. He is unable to practice martial arts because of his frailty, and even his initiation was very late.
However, when he was young, he often followed behind his three brothers to join in the fun.
As he got a little older, he could feel more and more that although his father gave his three brothers the same lessons and treatment.
But in fact, it may be because of guilt for his two younger brothers who died in the battlefield, or maybe because Yang Jun and Yang Neng are the only remaining bloodlines of the other two families, and they bear the responsibility of being the ancestors of the other two families.
In short, whether it is practicing martial arts or studying Chinese literature, my father is often more strict with his eldest brother and second brother.
As for the third brother, he was lazy when he was riding, slept when he was reading military books, and bullied other children when playing with them, but his father turned a blind eye.
Later, the three brothers all followed their father on the battlefield, and Yang Jie saw less of them.
However, after a moment's thought, he knew that his father's love for his third brother would only increase rather than decrease. After all, he was not only his biological son, but also his father who fought alongside him.
In the letters from home, Yang Jie could feel the wantonness of the third brother, the pampering of the second brother, the helplessness of the eldest brother, and... the indulgence of his father, intentionally or unintentionally.
After returning to Beijing this time, my father often lamented why there were four sons in his family. Yang Xin was outstanding in both civil and military skills. Yang Neng was resolute, steady, and resourceful, but only Yang Jun developed a domineering habit and caused all kinds of absurdities. thing.
In fact, every time he heard such words, Yang Jie wanted to say that the reason why Yang Jun was so wanton and arrogant was simply because no matter what trouble he caused, someone would deal with the aftermath for him...
"What does the father want his son to say, go to the prison of the Ministry of Punishment and replace his brother?"
Yang Jie raised his head, his eyes were clear, and he did not dodge Yang Hong's gaze. His tone was gentle, but his words were like a knife, piercing Yang Hong's heart.
After being stunned for a moment, Yang Hong lowered his head slightly and said in a weak voice.
"Xiaojie, that's not what father meant..."
"What does that mean? Or, what does the father want to hear from his son? Please tell me."
Yang Jie was still smiling, but the more he looked like this, the more powerless he felt to Yang Hong.
In fact, Yang Hong knew in his heart that emotionally he had a preference for Yang Jun.
After all, the Yang family is a general, so he has high hopes for Yang Jun, a son who can fight with him on the battlefield.
Although it is said that Yang Jun's behavior has been ridiculous in recent years, Yang Hong always feels that he is young and frivolous, and he will naturally restrain his personality when he is 30 years old.
You must know that although his son is domineering, he is excellent in martial arts. Although his military skills are not outstanding, they are not bad, and he has the potential to become a great person.
However, at the same time, he had no intention of treating Yang Jie badly.
Yang Jie is the legitimate son, so the title of the Yang Mansion naturally belongs to him. From now on, he will take care of most of the huge family property in the capital.
As for Yang Jun, since he can fight on the battlefield, he should inherit the glory of the Yang family, take over Yang Hong's skills, fight in all directions, and spread the name of the Yang family throughout Mobei.
Although the Yang family already has a Yang Xin, after all, Yang Jun is his biological son.
Therefore, Yang Hong has always hoped that Yang Jun can become the second Yang Xin.
Of course, in Yang Hong's view, there is no distinction between these two different paths. They are just different because of the different situations, qualifications and backgrounds of Yang Jun and Yang Jie.
For Yang Hong, for so many years, he fought on the battlefield, guarded the Xuanfu, and resisted bandits from the north, and made great achievements. However, for Yang Jie, he was not a responsible father.
When this son could only remember, he went to the border, leaving his orphans and widowed mother behind, and managed a huge family business in the capital.
Even when Yang Jie's mother died of illness, he was not around and had to rush back afterwards.
All these things have always been a knot in his heart.
Therefore, although Yang Jun has been with him for more than ten years and he loves him very much, he also wants to cultivate the relationship between father and son for Yang Jie.
However, there are some things that if you miss them, you miss them...
Since Yang Hong returned to the capital, Yang Jie had served him attentively, taking care of him in the morning and dusk, and had fulfilled his filial piety to the extreme. However, Yang Hong always felt that the two of them were not close enough.
Or in other words, there always seems to be a layer between them.
If among the four children of the Yang family, Yang Xin is measured in advance and retreat, Yang Neng is steady and resourceful, and Yang Jun is impulsive, then the only adjective that Yang Hong can think of for this child Yang Jie is calm.
The calmness of Mount Tai without changing its appearance even when it collapses!
He is humble and courteous, sober and calm, and is extremely calm in facing any situation.
Just like now, although these two sentences were as sharp as a knife, Yang Jie's expression had a faint smile, and his tone was so gentle that he didn't seem to be talking about himself.
This indifferent but real sense of alienation made Yang Hong, who had always been decisive in killing on the battlefield, feel a deep sense of helplessness.
"I was just thinking that this is the first year that we have finally reunited as a family. Although your eldest brother is not here, you brothers have not seen each other for many years. It is always good to spend the New Year together."
If there were outsiders in the room at this time, they would be extremely surprised when they saw this scene.
It was obvious that Yang Hong was the father and Yang Jie was the son. It was obviously Yang Hong who summoned Yang Jie to question him, but now, it seemed that it was the other way around.
Yang Jie looked at Yang Hong with a calm expression, while Yang Hong's voice became weaker and weaker.
This explanation was either true or false. At least, even he himself didn't find it convincing.
"A family reunion?"
Yang Jie chewed these four words gently in his mouth, and rarely, his expression became a little cold.
The sound was very light, but it felt a bit harsh for no reason.
Only then did Yang Hong realize that what he said was inappropriate, but for a moment he didn't know what to say, so he could only remain silent.
However, Yang Jie obviously had no intention of delving into this matter. After just a moment, he regained his calm and calm expression and said.
"Father, you should know that it was not your son's original intention to send the third brother to jail, but..."
Yang Jie paused and did not continue speaking, but Yang Hong's expression suddenly changed.
After a while, Yang Jie continued.
"Actually, you know in your heart that even without this temptation, the third brother would have difficulty finding peace."
"There are no unbroken eggs when the nest is overturned. As long as the Changping Marquis Mansion is safe, the third brother will be there. If the Changping Marquis Mansion is not there, there will be people who want to settle old scores. My father should know this. Otherwise, he will not enter the palace and claim his third brother." guilt."
"In the current situation, third brother is more useful in prison than outside. Therefore, during the Chinese New Year, I can only force my father to suppress his love for his family a little."
Yang Jie naturally knew Yang Hong's mood at this moment.
At first, when Yang Xin sent word that Yu Qian was inspecting the military settlements and asked what to do, Yang Hong was a little hesitant, whether to stop it secretly or let it go.
At that time, it was Yang Jie who advocated that Yu Qian must be under the command of his superiors to investigate secretly and should not go against the emperor.
Then, the emperor issued an edict to summon Yang Neng, and Yang Jun came to Beijing. Although it was a promotion, it contained a warning.
Yang Hong finally listened to Yang Jie's opinion and wrote to Yang Xin, asking him to fully assist Yu Qian. That's why Yu Qian's trip to the Xuanfu was so smooth without excessive constraints.
At that time, Yang Xin even deliberately vacated the deputy general's military residence and invited Yu Qian to live next door, providing him with basic necessities, food, clothing, housing and transportation.
However, the situation did not improve.
Yu Qian found more and more things in the Xuan Mansion, and his relationship with Yang Xin gradually became more and more distant. In the end, every time he saw Yang Xin, there must be a royal guard accompanying him in the room.
Regarding the military camp, Yu Qian advocated strict investigation and severe punishment. Yang Xin found out this clearly through many exchanges with Yu Qian.
Even in Xuanfu, Yu Qian still did not waver at all when Yang Xin showed kindness to him to this extent.
As Yu Qian returned to Beijing from Xuan Mansion, a catastrophe was imminent for the Changping Hou Mansion.
At that time, Yang Hong still had two choices.
One is to unite forces and strike first.
It should be noted that at that time, the affairs of the military camp had already spread. If Yang Hong was willing, as the former chief military officer of the Xuanfu, the new marquis who was now in charge of the Beijing camp, with him as the leader, would involve everything in the military camp. It was not difficult for a large number of forces to gather together and besiege Yu Qian in the court.
People who come off the battlefield never lack the courage to give it a try.
What's more, Yang Hong didn't really have any connections in Beijing. As early as the Yongle period, he followed Emperor Taizong in the northern expedition and served under Laocheng'an Marquis Guo Liang. In the Hongxi period, he followed Yangwu Marquis Xue Lu to conquer Dasong Ridge. During the Xuande period, he even served as a vanguard with Wu Cheng, Ping Bo of the Qing Dynasty, to attack the Tatars from afar.
However, after the orthodoxy, Yang Hong had made many meritorious deeds and was able to be a general and lead an army alone, so he became somewhat alienated from these mansions.
Later, as the honors of the older generation gradually withered, the relationship became even weaker.
However, there is always love. With Yang Hong's current status, if he wants to make friends, the other party will never turn him away.
Therefore, Yang Hong actually has this ability.
But, he didn't do this...
Or because of Yang Jie.
It seems that Yu Qian is in charge of the military camp, but in reality, it must be the emperor who is behind it.
Although it is not clear to what extent the emperor's determination is, since the emperor asked Yu Qian to investigate, he must know Yu Qian's attitude on this matter.
Therefore, once you take the path of confrontation, it is equivalent to betraying the emperor.
Yang Hong has only returned to Beijing for half a year, but Yang Jie has always stayed in Beijing. Although he is not a member of the court, the Yang family is considered prominent in Beijing, and the people Yang Jie usually associates with are all The ministers of each family honored their descendants.
Therefore, there is not much news from the court that can be obtained.
He deeply understood what a terrible person the emperor was today, so it was never a wise move to go against the emperor.
So, he persuaded his father to go to the palace to admit his mistakes to the emperor, and lay everything out in front of the emperor. In this way, thinking about his past achievements, at least the emperor could leave an lintel title to the Yang family.
This time, Yang Hong listened, but not everything...
Because if according to what Yang Jie said, the Yang family would become the emperor's flag-sacrifice in ordering the army, maybe in the end, Yang Hong could still keep the title he had gained through bloodshed in hundreds of battles.
However, as a leader, the Yang family will inevitably get the reputation of being a drinker of soldiers' blood. From then on, at least two or three generations will find it difficult to get ahead in the military.
This is a result that Yang Hong cannot accept.
Therefore, Yang Hong finally chose a compromise method.
He entered the palace and confessed his crime, but instead of telling the story about the military camp, he told about Yang Jun's domineering drunkenness and killing of his subordinates.
Just like what Yang Jie said, he knew in his heart that Yang Jun would not die as long as the Changping Marquis Mansion was there. As a military general, as long as he didn't die, it would be very easy to make a comeback.
Yang Hong hoped that the emperor punished Yang Jun and demoted Yang Neng, so that this would be the end of the matter and the Yang family's invasion and occupation of the military camp would no longer be pursued.
For this reason, Yang Hong even planned to hand over Jingying.
However, in the end he was disappointed.
The emperor imprisoned Yang Jun pending trial and banned Yang Neng, but he did not take back his power in the capital.
Naturally... I have no intention of pardoning the Yang family.
Yang Hong repeatedly backed down and even claimed to be ill and hid at home, hoping to hand over the power of the capital in this way, but the emperor remained indifferent.
As the days passed, the commotion in the court became more and more intense. The emperor openly supported Yu Qian in the court and promoted the rectification of the military camp with an extremely determined attitude.
Yu Qian made rapid progress in the Ministry of War with great enthusiasm, the rectification plan was changed several times, and various news became rampant, which made Yang Hong feel deeply uneasy.
So, of course, he began to doubt whether his original choice was the right one.
If he adopts a tough attitude from the beginning, will the other party give up? In this way, Yang Jun does not have to go to jail. Who knows, he can still be on duty in the military government or the Beijing camp...
Yang Jie knew in his heart that Yang Jun had been detained in the Ministry of Punishment Prison, which was just a trigger that finally made his father unable to bear it anymore.
The real reason is that he panicked!
He was afraid that the emperor would really make up his mind to use the Yang family to clear the way for rectifying the army. He was afraid that in the end, decades of bloody battles on the battlefield by the Yang family would be in vain.
Therefore, he began to doubt himself, doubt others, and become restless.
Yang Jie understands all this.
Everyone has a fatal weakness.
For Yang Hong, the glory of the Yang family is his Achilles heel!
So, at this time, it is useless to say anything.
What my father needs is a life-saving straw.
Yang Jie sighed softly and spoke.
"Father, don't worry. My son will leave the house tomorrow. When he comes back, he will definitely give him a solution."
Yang Hong didn't speak, he didn't know what to say.
The old age of a veteran is the most tragic thing.
It's a pity that he spent his whole life fighting, but in the end, he suffered from national affairs and family affairs...
After a moment, Yang Hong sighed heavily, still did not speak, and just waved his hand feebly.
So, Yang Jie stood up and bowed, still respectful and thoughtful.
"My child, please leave..."
