In the third year of Qianyou's reign, Liu Chengyou had been in charge of the country for two years without realizing it. After such a long time, the emperor's throne was finally warmed by his ass.
On the eve of the Yuan Dynasty, Liu Chengyou had a rare luxury. He allocated money and held a grand banquet in the Chongyuan Hall of the Han Palace to celebrate. Officials of civil and military officials of fifth rank or above in Beijing were all present.
Both high-ranking officials and aristocrats, as well as traffickers and commoners, both inside and outside Tokyo, are also celebrating the festival. The situation of the Han Dynasty can be seen from the festive atmosphere. In the past two years, no matter how beautiful the festival was, there was always a sense of desolation.
Kaifeng City is already shrouded in a strong festive atmosphere. The people in the city are gradually becoming more cheerful, and there are a lot more laughter in the streets and alleys.
In the early spring, all businesses in the capital were gradually flourishing, and the scene was peaceful. However, a large mansion near the imperial palace was shrouded in desolation, which was incompatible with the surrounding atmosphere.
The door plaque reads "Yang Mansion", which is the residence of Prime Minister Yang Bin! When Yang Bin was in power, there was not a lot of traffic in front of the door, but it was by no means such a bleak scene. The door was closed tightly, and there seemed to be a layer of unspeakable sadness suppressing the sky above the mansion.
The carriage with low-key decoration rumbled by and stopped in front of the mansion. The curtain was lifted, and a tired-looking young man jumped out of the carriage irritably, avoiding the help of the servant. Stopping for a moment, his scrawled beard trembled in the cold spring breeze, looking at the still tall mansion gate, his bloodshot eyes were a little dim, and he let out a long sigh.
This is Yang Tingkan, Yang Bin's eldest son. Ever since Liu Chengyou returned to Beijing, he has been busy with his father's affairs.
The servant stepped forward, weakly opened the door, and walked back to the house with heavy steps, each step seemed heavier than the last. Behind, two servants unloaded several exquisitely wrapped gifts from the carriage...
"Brother, you're back! How's the situation?" In the mansion, Yang Tingyi, Yang Bin's third son, hurriedly came up to him.
Facing his brother's expectant gaze, Yang Tingkan shook his head and stretched out his hand: "Let's talk in the hall!"
Seeing this, Yang Tingyi's mood suddenly dropped. Looking at the intact gift carried by the servant behind him, his face became more gloomy.
After entering and sitting down, the tea was soothing to the throat, but it was very tasteless. Yang Tingkan lowered his voice and said: "Everyone in the court, I have gone through all of them, but with little success. No one is willing to intercede for my father... "
As he said that, Yang Tingkan felt a little depressed: "I think so. In the past two years, my father has made too many enemies in the court. They can't even add insult to injury, so how can they speak for my father?"
Yang Tingkan looked at Yang Tingyi and asked, "What have you gained here? Where are my father's old subordinates, old officials, and officials promoted by my father? How do they react? It's time for them to speak out for the Yang family!"
Mentioning this, young Yang Tingyi's face was full of resentment, and he said bitterly: "They are all unjust people. Now they are afraid of avoiding the Yang family. Several people heard about my visit and closed their doors. Take it seriously! A few people have expressed their willingness to run for their father, but others of that generation are so humble that they can't even enter the Chongyuan Palace, so what's the use?"
After the words fell, Yang Tingkan couldn't help but clenched his fists. The hall fell silent. Although the weather in early spring was cool, it was not as cold as the Yang brothers.
After sitting in silence for a while, Yang Tingyi looked at his elder brother: "Brother, do you know why my father was imprisoned? My father was the prime minister of the dynasty and the founding minister of the country. The emperor detained him without any explanation and without any explanation. How can you convince the public and not be afraid of causing turmoil?"
Hearing this, Yang Tingkan frowned. As the heir to the family business trained by Yang Bin, he also knew something about Yang Bin's situation and the situation in the DPRK. Yang Tingyi's question was the real worry in his heart. He didn't even know the reason for his father's suffering. He had been running around like a headless fly recently, which really made him exhausted mentally and physically. As for the crux of the problem, Yang Tingkan had a guess, and that guess made him fearful.
He slowly shook his head, without any intention of explaining to Yang Tingyi. He thought for a while, patted his thigh, and said, "Tomorrow I will go to Uncle Wang's house again. He has known his father for many years and has a very deep relationship. I don't think there is anything wrong with him." Regardless of the feelings of the past. Let’s have a try, can I go to jail and see my father!”
"That's the only way!" Seeing that his brother had made up his mind, Yang Tingyi had no other choice but to nod.
"During this period, don't go back to your own house. Bring your little one here and take care of your mother and the affairs of the house!" Yang Tingkan ordered again.
"yes!"
Sitting alone in the hall, looking at the cold scene everywhere, Yang Tingkan couldn't help but dwindled down, looking overwhelmed. He knew in his heart that Yang Bin's matter was difficult and dangerous. No matter what the outcome was, the Yang family would no longer be as prosperous as before. It was even unknown whether the Yang family could still exist.
Given Yang Bin's identity and status, his sudden imprisonment was no less than a thunder that exploded in the court for the big man who had been calm for a long time.
During the northern tour, when the news came back from the imperial camp, all the officials in the court were shocked, and after it spread, there was a lot of discussion in the government and the public. Although Wang Zhang, Feng Dao, Fan Zhi and other ministers were stunned, without knowing the reason, they could only try their best to appease the officials, stabilize the situation, and wait for the emperor's explanation.
However, until Liu Chengyou returned from his northern tour and passed the New Year, he still had not settled the matter of Yang Bin. Under Liu Chengyou's intentional or unintentional suppression, not many people in the court dared to comment rashly.
First, if you don't know the reason, you won't care about it easily; second, the emperor's majesty is growing, and you are afraid of violating taboos without understanding the holy will.
Of course, there are inevitable fluctuations in people's hearts. His imprisonment seemed too strange, and to outsiders, it smelled like a "coup". Yang Feng was no better than Su Fengji at the time. He had a stronger attribute of a "powerful minister". Starting from the great ancestor Liu Zhiyuan, for a short period of time, the national affairs of the Han Dynasty were all managed by him.
In the Chongzheng Hall, Liu Chengyou, Guo Wei, Wang Jun, Shang Hongqian and other military ministers discussed the border defense of Hebei again, especially the overall planning of towns and military envoys during his northern tour, which still needs continuous fine-tuning. . The more the national strategy focuses on the south, the more it dares not relax its focus on the north.
It was decided that several more forbidden troops would be transferred to several key passes in Hebei for defense and garrisoning, and then they were discussed. This time, the imperial army of about 4,000 people selected capable men from the armies under the jurisdiction of the Guards Department. Of course, they came in as they went out. At the same time, they selected elite men from the towns in Hebei, Henan, and Guan Nei to enter the capital. Thought it was a spare. Under Liu Chengyou's instruction, the Privy Council had formulated a garrison policy, which was officially implemented three years ago.
After the military ministers retreated, Liu Chengyou ordered someone to hang up a map. The cities and roads were carefully sketched on it, with the Lianghuai River as the main focus. He put a lot of effort into it, comprehensively integrating classics, maps, local chronicles, and local reports. After careful investigation, the geographical and terrain conditions at the junction of Han and Tang Dynasties have been greatly improved.
Staring at the Huainan region on the scroll, Liu Chengyou became even more greedy for this fertile land. It is said that although the Southern Tang Dynasty was rich, the lives of the people in the Huainan states were not peaceful. Excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes were common in any country. However, at this time, Liu Chengyou had to resist the urge to "save the people of Huainan from water and fire."
In his mind, he sketched some details of the conquest of the Tang Dynasty and thought about the geography of Huainan. Liu Chengyou, who had been thinking about it for a long time, suddenly spoke and ordered someone to summon Wang Pu.
"Send someone to ask Wang Pu if the location for digging canals and building lakes has been confirmed!" Liu Chengyou ordered directly.
"Yes!" Wang Pu thought for a moment and understood the emperor's intention.
The Han army was good at land warfare, but they thought that Huainan was full of swamps and lakes, which made it difficult for them to move around on foot and on horseback. Liu Chengyou had already intended to train the navy army, so he issued an edict in advance, ordering Wang Pu to dig a large lake at a site to dredge the water veins and use it to train the navy army. .
However, there has not been much progress. First, there is financial pressure, and second, the chosen location needs to be reviewed. Speaking of Wang Pu, for nearly a year, he focused on Dahan's water conservancy projects. He was a good strategist, but Liu Chengyou used him as a supervisor. Liu Chengyou felt that he was overqualified and underused, but Wang Pu responded happily.
"Officials, the Third Division Envoy Wang Xianggong wants to see you!" Zhang Dejun, the chamberlain, reported.
"Xuan!"
Not long after, Wang Zhang came in, holding several memorials in his hand, which were about some work progress of the third department, and a report on the financial and taxation input. Due to the national conditions and current affairs, Liu Chengyou was loyal to the country, with the first priority being military power and the second priority being money and food. Therefore, Liu Chengyou always listened carefully to Wang Zhang's memorials.
After surviving a cold winter, Wang Zhang's body looked a little worse. He lost a little weight, the silver threads in his hair became a little thicker, and there were a few coughs interspersed in his words.
"I feel very at ease when the country's finances are given to Wang Qing!" Even if he is rewarded for his hard work, Liu Chengyou once again expressed concern for Wang Zhang in a tone of approval: "Wang Qing is the pillar of the country and my thigh, so you should take care of your body. That’s it!”
"I accept your majesty's favor, and I will only do my duty!" I don't know when, from the bottom of his heart, Wang Zhang did not dare to look down on the young emperor again.
After the report was over, Wang Zhang did not leave. Seeing that he had something to say, Liu Chengyou ordered someone to bring him a cup of hot tea and asked, "If you have something to say, you might as well say it directly without restraint!"
Seeing this, Wang Zhang fell silent, hesitated for a moment, raised his head and said, "I have a question. If your Majesty is offended, your Majesty will just punish you!"
Wang Zhang's face was full of seriousness, Liu Chengyou looked surprised and said: "Wang Qing said seriously!"
After bowing his hands in a salute, Wang Zhang looked at Liu Chengyou calmly: "May I ask your majesty why Mr. Yang was convicted? Once the prime minister was imprisoned, I must say frankly that your majesty should explain it to the court and the world!"
Hearing his question, Liu Chengyou paused for a moment, his expression gradually became serious, and he looked at Wang Zhang with eyes as deep as the sea. However, the question didn't seem too surprising.
Wang Zhang's expression became "bitter and full of hatred". Liu Chengyou slowly looked away and did not answer him directly. Instead, he said quietly: "It must be the Yang family who came to Wang Qing's house to ask for help!"
