Winter has always been difficult, but if you endure it, it will pass. Throughout the eleventh year of Qianyou, all affairs in the entire East Asia region basically revolved around the conflicts and wars between Han and Liao.
Although there has been no major fighting for more than two months, the war is still continuing, and the two countries are still fighting fiercely along the border. The Han Dynasty has no intention of relenting, and similarly, the Liao Kingdom is also stubborn and will fight to the end.
Time flies, except for the war in the north, the Han Dynasty entered the twelfth year of Qianyou smoothly and without any setbacks. On the first day of the first lunar month, Kaifeng became lively again, and the citizens actively carried out celebrations to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, as if to release the emotions that had been suppressed throughout the cold winter. The sound of firecrackers brings the old year to light, that's probably how it goes.
The emperor was still in Youzhou to control the overall situation of the Northern Expedition. The first month of the dynasty was not held, but there was still a celebration in the court. Because of the state-owned expedition, they did not dare to have any extravagance and waste, and just held a simple celebration. During the celebration, relatives of the clan, ministers and officials in Beijing entered the palace to congratulate the Queen Mother and the Queen in the East Palace.
Similarly, during this festival, the officials of the central court cannot relax as they did in previous years, especially those in important positions, let alone take a break.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, in Kunming Hall, the Crown Prince Liu Yang came here every day to greet the Queen. After being named the crown prince, Liu Yang moved to the East Palace, but after half a year, he had basically adapted to it, but the frequency of going to Kunming Hall every day was not low at all. In addition to the reason of being devoted to his mother, the little prince also needs his mother's support and comfort.
After Liu Chengyou personally conquered the country, the prince supervised the country. Although it was only in name, he basically sat in the chair and listened to the ministers handle state affairs.
Although it is difficult to express decision-making opinions, ministers will also attach a copy of some disposal memorials for him to read. This is what the emperor ordered before leaving. Although he is the crown prince, it is not easy for a ten-year-old child. However, Liu Yang behaved very seriously and read everything meticulously. If he did not understand something, he respectfully asked questions. After returning to the palace, if he still had questions, Then he would go to Kunming Hall to ask his mother for advice.
In fact, the Queen's Talisman supports the prince's status in all aspects. For Liu Yang, the half-year career as a prince has also improved his germplasm. Every move he makes has the majesty of a prince. Of course, this is also a bonus brought by the change in status.
However, this was not easy. Every time he was in the palace, dealing with important ministers, watching them handle state affairs, and listening to their arguments, Liu Yang always felt stressed. Even though he was just a young prince, Liu Yang's schedule was already complicated, and he no longer just studied and practiced martial arts as in previous years. Therefore, from time to time, Liu Yang would choose to express his emotions to his mother. Of course, they would usually be comforted and resolved by leaving a big charm.
Before arriving at the Kunming Palace, Liu Yang also went to visit the Queen Mother. This was also taught by Da Fu. The image of a good prince also needs to be cultivated and maintained from an early age. In fact, before he was established as the crown prince, Liu Yang was still happy. At least unlike Liu Xi, the third child, Empress Fu did not put too much pressure on him.
After the ceremony, the mother and son ate together. The Han Palace without the emperor always lacked something, which could be seen from the queen's emotional expression. Da Fu was obviously a little sad, not because of anything else, but because his brother Fu Zhaoxin, the envoy of Xuanhui, passed away just five days ago. He died very suddenly.
When Fu Zhaoxin was in Qianyou's seventh year, he fell ill and almost died. Liu Chengyou personally sent an imperial doctor and used good medicine to save him. After recovering from his illness, he transferred from military service to civil service and served successively as Chenzhou, Xuzhou, Palace Supervisor and Xuanhui Envoy.
Now, Fu Zhaoxin's sudden death is a big blow to the Fu family. After all, although the Fu family is prosperous, there is a problem with Fu Yanqing, the most noble lineage.
Although Fu Yanqing had three sons, only Fu Zhaoxin was the only one who had grown up and served as an important official in the court, and he was quite trusted by the emperor. Symbol has two younger brothers left, who are still young. Therefore, Queen Fu was very sentimental about the death of Fu Zhaoxin. In addition to the brother-sister relationship, there were also certain political factors.
"Mom, I want to attend in person on the day of my uncle's funeral!" Liu Yang took the initiative, probably because he felt a little sorry for his mother's sadness.
Hearing this, Empress Fu glanced at him and showed a forced smile, appearing very satisfied with his performance. Holding the infant prince in his arms, he unbuttoned his clothes. During this time, the milk had increased and he had nowhere to consume it. So he simply fed it himself. Da Fu said, "Spring has begun, and state affairs are busy again. Follow the ministers, and you have to take good care of it." Listen to politics and learn!”
"The Duke of Lu is an important minister of the Han Dynasty. He is the person your father relies on. He has always been treated as a teacher. It is your blessing to be your Taifu. You should treat him with more respect and courtesy, and ask for more advice!" Da Fu warned again! .
"Yes!" Liu Yang nodded and responded seriously.
Emperor Liu Chengyou paid no attention to the crown prince Liu Yang, and Wei Renpu also served as the crown prince's tutor. To this day, Wei Renpu is still Liu Chengyou's most trusted minister.
He also recalled Li Fang, who had served abroad for many years, and together with Dou Yan, a member of Zhongshushe, served as guests of the prince. Li Fang was a close official of the emperor, and Dou Yan was one of the "Five Dragons of the Dou Family". Judging from Liu Chengyou's previous arrangements, he had great expectations for the prince Liu Yang and really wanted to train him into a qualified prince.
"Your Highness, your Majesty, the ministers are already waiting at the Guangzheng Hall. Mr. Fan has sent someone to inform you, and please ask His Majesty the Crown Prince to move over to listen to the government!" Not long after breakfast, a servant came to report.
Hearing this, Liu Yang's small body straightened up subconsciously, and his whole person became serious. This almost became a conditioned reflex. Empress Fu still looked at her with an encouraging look and said warmly, "Go!"
Liu Yang stood up and respectfully excused himself.
In the Guangzheng Hall, important ministers gathered together in twos and threes, chatting softly. Liu Chengxun, Fan Zhi, Wei Renpu, Wang Pu, Xue Juzheng plus Xiang Xun, Han Tong, these seven people were the most powerful among Kaifeng's foreign ministers during the emperor's Northern Expedition. Of course, King Yong Liu Chengxun was basically used to fill the numbers and balance the number of people.
Fan Zhi seemed to be sighing, which was quite puzzling. The Minister of Civil Affairs, Shen Shihou, asked about this. In this regard, Fan Zhi did not hide his thoughts and said directly, "It has been nearly half a year since the Northern Expedition, and hundreds of thousands of troops have been supported on the border. The imperial court has exhausted all its efforts. Now that spring has begun, the war divisions are still With no end in sight, the camp came again with edicts to increase military supplies and people's strength, and the spring plowing was about to be delayed. A country is based on the people, and agriculture is important. If it hurts the farmers, it will harm the foundation. If the farming season is missed, it may cause disaster. Your Majesty has left. The capital has been empty for several months, and it is even more fearful that the people will be uneasy."
Obviously, regarding this Northern Expedition, ministers like Fan Zhi began to worry too much again and showed concern for the country and the people. Of course, their worries were not unfounded, and they were well-founded. In order to support the Northern Expedition, the imperial court had already paid a high price.
Not to mention the more than 100,000 soldiers and civilians who suffered casualties before and after, in terms of financial consumption, the court spent hundreds of millions of dollars. After the pacification of Shu, the war dividends plundered from Shu were almost gone.
More than one million civilians were mobilized, and more than 2.5 million shi of grain and flour were transferred to Youzhou. The loss in transportation was as high as 600,000 shi. In order to support the battle, even part of the grain storage in Tokyo's official warehouse was used.
So far, the Tokyo government's grain reserves are only enough for the people of Tokyo for the 13th month. You must know that Liu Chengyou attached great importance to the grain storage in the capital due to the experience and lessons learned from the shortage of grain in the early years. Starting from the tenth year of the Qianlong reign, the official grain storage in Tokyo was enough to supply the entire Kaifeng people for two years.
Therefore, food consumption reaching this level is already a dangerous signal for Tokyo. Under such circumstances, the emperor issued another edict, asking Tokyo to continue to prepare food, ordnance, clothing, and uniforms.
After the beginning of spring, the northern army will change into spring clothes again, which is another huge expenditure. You must know that in order to support the northern army through the winter, the supply of cloth and silk clothes consumes more than half of the official reserves. This can be said. This made Fan Zhi, Xue Juzheng and other ministers feel pain for a long time.
Now, the emperor is preparing to launch a major offensive against the Khitan. The war is going on, and I don't know how long it will be delayed. If the war continues for a long time, there will definitely be problems in the country. This is almost certain.
Although the attack on the Southern Tang Dynasty lasted half a year from winter to spring, it was able to feed the enemy at that time and was close to Huainan, so the Han Dynasty could fully support it. However, the scale of this troop movement was so large that it was the first in decades. Until now, the pressure on the big man has reached a certain level. If you persist any longer, you will start to lose your vitality.
Therefore, recently, it is inevitable that there will be a wave of boycotts in the imperial court. In fact, as early as last winter, some people suggested that the emperor should stop as soon as he saw fit, because after the Battle of Nankou, the Han Dynasty had achieved great results, severely damaging the Liao army, repeating the Yanshan Pass, and greatly making up for the loopholes in the northern border defense. Of the sixteen Youyun Prefectures, only the six Prefectures of Yun, Shuo, Huan, Wei, Xin, and Wu were confiscated and recovered. Under such circumstances, there is really no need to forcefully complete the work in one battle.
Of course, if we only look at the economic benefits, the Northern Expedition to the Liao Kingdom was a loss-making business no matter how we calculated it. However, this account is not calculated that way.
Although Fan Zhi and other ministers could not see the benefits of restoring Yan Yun, it was just that when the price paid was too high and it caused domestic dangers, they would inevitably tend to be conservative.
However, when Emperor Liu Chengyou needed to be decisive, no one could change his will. Therefore, Fan Zhi's efforts were destined to be useless.
When Prince Liu Yang arrived, the discussion in Guangzheng Hall stopped immediately, and all the ministers returned to their seats to pay homage. Although he is a young prince and does not have much prestige, he does not dare to lack the respect he deserves. For more than ten years, Liu Chengyou has attached great importance to the reconstruction of the "ritual system". The reason why Dou Yan was gradually favored by the emperor was because of his outstanding achievements in Han rituals.
Liu Yang also looked very humble, and returned the courtesy to the ministers respectfully, and then sat down, sitting upright, with a straight face, and quietly waiting for the palace discussion.
In fact, after six months of contact, the minister was still very satisfied with the prince's performance. Since you respect them, you are also quick to learn, humble and respectful, and behave well. In this way, in the eyes of these ministers, he does look like a prince, not just because of his status.
As Fan Zhi presided over the palace meeting, in Liu Yang's eyes, the arguments and discussions among the old men began again. Especially Fan Zhi, who has a firm tone and tough attitude. When he is emotional, spittle almost splashes on his face.
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