In the East Palace, in Yuehua Courtyard, Prince Liu Yang lay down quietly on a soft chair, enjoying a medicinal bath. The basin was as deep as his knees, and the air was filled with a slight medicinal smell. It was not too unpleasant, but it made people drowsy.
Xiao Chuo crouched in front of him, serving him with his own hands, pressing and squeezing her, just like she was a human being, she had an excellent sense of proportion and did not let the prince feel any discomfort.
Liu Yang was obviously tired, and his face looked dull. Unconsciously, Liu Yang also had some wrinkles on his face. In a daze, I heard Xiao Chuo's soft call: "Your Highness!"
Opening his eyes, he faced Xiao Chuo with a gentle face: "The water is cold, please add some hot water!"
Liu Yang looked outside. It was quiet in the winter night, and there was a bit more solemnity in the palace. In the room, the dim candlelight shrouded the two of them, adding a slightly hazy atmosphere.
"What time is it?" Liu Yang asked softly.
"It's the You hour!" Xiao Chuo replied.
"That's it, no more soaking!" Liu Yang rubbed his still sore eyes, put his feet on the edge of the basin, and ordered.
"Yes!" Xiao Chuo immediately took the towel, picked up Liu Yang's feet, and wiped them carefully.
On weekdays, Liu Yang would do things like wiping feet, but he was really tired and embarrassed recently, so he couldn't help but be lazy and wait for others.
After finishing his decision, Liu Yang pulled Xiao Chuo to his side and sat down. Looking at the face that was not stunningly beautiful but pleased him, he asked, "I heard that your father is here today."
"Yes!" After hearing this, Xiao Chuo nodded.
"You haven't come to see me since you arrived in the palace!" Liu Yang said.
Xiao Chuo lowered his head and said softly: "Your Highness is busy with state affairs, so it is inconvenient to disturb you!"
"That's a big deal!" Liu Yang smiled.
In fact, Liu Yang has always been very satisfied with the Xiao family's orderly behavior. In comparison, although Concubine Zhao was well-known and well-educated, she was inevitably too deeply involved with the foreign dynasty and would inevitably cause some troubles.
And Xiao Siwen was promoted again. Now he is the envoy of the vassal and is in charge of the vassal court. Although he ranks very low among the ministries and departments of the imperial court, it is also a department with real power. Most importantly, this means that the Xiao family has further integrated into the Han Dynasty. Of course, they have been targeted again. However, similar to Xiao Chuo's style in the East Palace, Xiao Siwen also kept a low profile in the court.
"Your Highness has lost a lot of weight recently. You still need to take care of yourself and don't work too hard!" Xiao Chuo said with concern after chatting for a while and seeing Liu Yang's face showing fatigue again and looking troubled.
Liu Yang leaned on the soft chair, closed his eyes, raised his hand and knocked on his forehead, sighing: "The state affairs are like this, how can I have free time? This year, the harvest in Daozhou, Central Plains has been poor, finances and taxes have been greatly reduced, and food prices in various places have risen. If it weren't for the official warehouse Providing grain and stabilizing grain prices will only cause more troubles.
The harvest in the northwest was also not good. From the government to the people, there were constant twists and turns and turmoil. On Yulin Road, Wang Qian failed to suppress the thieves, and Li Ni was weak. However, despite repeated attacks, it was difficult to eradicate them.
The party members are even more eager to act, and they are so disloyal, which is really worrying, and I have trouble sleeping and eating."
Liu Yang talked about these troubles like he was pouring out his bitterness. Xiao Chuo listened silently, frowned a little, thought for a while, and asked: "Then Li Jiqian, is he so difficult to deal with?"
Liu Yang did not open his eyes, but just shook his head and said: "It's not that this person is difficult to fight, but the situation dictates it. There are not many thieves, and their strength is not strong. If they confront the officers and soldiers head-on, they will only be destroyed.
Several previous campaigns have already proven this. For the government, rogue bandits are the most troublesome, and now Li Ni insists on fighting rogue bandits, going east and west, disappearing and reappearing, which makes Wang Qian a little tired of running for his life.
The environment of Yulin also gives him room to come and go freely. In fact, the imperial court had already seen clearly the chaos that had lasted for this year. Li Jiqian did not have to worry about it. It was the party members who were in trouble. "
"Since you can see the problem, why don't you prescribe the right medicine?" Xiao Chuo asked doubtfully.
"Why not, we have asked the Yulin prefecture government to tighten restrictions on party members and civilians within the territory and cut off their contact with Li Ni. However, the effect has been achieved.
In order to exterminate the rebels and suppress the local area, Yulin has increased its troops to 30,000, but it is necessary to not only suppress the rebels but also maintain stability, which is still insufficient. There are hundreds of thousands of Yulin party members." Liu Yang said with a headache.
After listening, Xiao Chuo couldn't help but think of the discussion about this matter with Liu Yang that day. Obviously, instead of improving, the situation was getting worse.
Xiao Chuo remained cautious and was reluctant to express his opinions on these political affairs, but seeing Liu Yang's troubled look, his thoughts couldn't help but come alive.
After hesitating for a moment, Xiao Chuo said softly: "Since His Highness has already seen clearly that the chaos in Yulin is caused by the party, why not start from this aspect."
Liu Yang finally opened his eyes and looked at her. His eyes were calm, but Xiao Chuo was slightly shaken. He lowered his head and said, "Your Highness, please forgive me for talking too much!"
Liu Yang waved his hand, softened again, remained silent for a long time, and then said in a low voice: "I understand what you are referring to. Dad has expressed his attitude towards Party members before. Maybe it's my womanly kindness, but At present, in the northwest, it is difficult to maintain the current situation, and it is really difficult to make a decision. Recently, my father's patience has become increasingly insufficient."
Liu Yang did not say any more, but with Xiao Chuo's cleverness, he naturally understood the meaning, and his eyes flickered a few times. She was also sure that a hero like Emperor Liu would lay down millions of corpses and bleed in anger. Thousands of miles is no exaggeration. What's more, the party members in Yulin are far less than one million.
After thinking for a while, Xiao Chuo added: "Even if it does not reach that step, the current ineffectiveness and sluggish progress in suppressing bandits in Yulin proves that there are problems with the current strategy of suppressing bandits, and it may be possible to make corresponding adjustments!"
Hearing what Xiao Chuo said, Liu Yang looked thoughtful and pointed: "There are debates about this matter in the Political Affairs Hall, the Privy Council, and on Yulin Road. Meng Xuanzhe, the commander of Xiazhou's troops and horses, had previously given a memorial, There are many criticisms of Wang Qian's strategy of suppressing thieves, and there are conflicts among the generals! I see, this adjustment may start from the employment of personnel!"
Hearing this, Xiao Chuo stopped talking. Liu Yang naturally noticed it, smiled, and said: "That's it for now, it's just you and me, you can say whatever you want, no need to be restrained!"
Xiao Chuo was still a little reserved with Liu Yang's attitude, but he still raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and said with a hint: "Duke Yan comes from a famous family, has led troops for many years, and has been in Yulin for a long time. Even if the situation is complicated, We wouldn't be forced to this point by a mere Li Jiqian!"
"Wang Yan!" Liu Yang's eyes were slightly blurred at this time, and he said leisurely: "This year, he has been mixed with praise and praise, and there has been a lot of criticism! Not long ago, someone mentioned that before Wang Yangong passed away, he left a His last words were that Wang Qian should not be put to great use, and he had already compared him to Ma Di. Not only was dad intolerable to the situation in Yulin, he was also intolerant of Wang Qian."
