From September to mid-November, the Imperial City has been bustling with activity. Whether it's ordinary people or those dignitaries who claim to be high-class, there are endless new topics to talk about every day.
The military affairs in the south are naturally the most talked about thing among the people, especially the Jianchuan victory a few days ago which brought this topic to the forefront.
Ordinary people don't think too much about the process. They simply care about the results.
If you lose, the country will be ugly, and you will be affected if you don't do well; if you win, the country will play well, and you can live a peaceful life in the future.
Now that the victory has been achieved, some people from well-off families are wondering if the army will bring back many slaves from the barbarians if they win? It will definitely be cheap by then. Do you want to buy one for your home?
And those dignitaries who consider themselves high-ranking are not just focusing on the military affairs in the south.
The battle was won in the south. The dignitaries felt happy but also felt that it was expected. How could the country be so powerful and still unable to deal with the barbarians who had been plundered for forty years? So they are more concerned about other things.
For example, the eldest prince and the second prince almost got into a fight in a restaurant, but Ye Lansheng, who was sitting at the same table, finally stopped them, otherwise it would not end well.
Another example is that the fifth prince often visits the Ministry of War recently. He likes to chat with Wen Mingju, the left minister of the Ministry of War, about the military affairs in the south. He also conducts simulations on the sand table. It's not like he doesn't pretend to understand, but he seems to know the military affairs well. appearance.
Also, recently it is said that there are more and more officials speaking out against the prince in the temple. Today, the fourth prince is impeached for living a luxurious life, tomorrow the sixth prince is impeached for raising barbarian slaves, which is unsightly, and the day after tomorrow, the seventh prince is impeached for not doing his job and being idle...
Compared with the military affairs in the south, these upper-class people prefer to talk about these topics about the prince. Because almost everyone is certain that the result of military affairs is victory in battle, but the topic of the prince is full of uncertainty and is closely related to them to a large extent.
Unlike ordinary people who enjoy watching the excitement, these self-proclaimed dignitaries seem to be chatting about gossip, but in fact they are more testing each other. This kind of temptation is very subtle but tacit. The higher the status of people, the more they value this kind of mutual temptation. Because unlike the seven princes, there is no "life or death" grudges between these dignitaries, and even if they take different sides in the future, they will have a tacit understanding to keep their sides. These need to be figured out slowly in this "temptation".
An iron-clad family and a troubled emperor can't have a deadly feud between a family and an emperor just because they are on different sides, right? Therefore, compared to the seven princes, the more noble the family, the more clearly they can see the changes in the imperial city at this moment.
Lingwang Mansion.
The rumors outside have not changed the habits of Spirit King Yang Shu. He still goes to various places of sensuality as before, looking like an uninhibited prodigal. He always associates with merchants and has never been considered among the top upper-class circles in the imperial city. See you soon.
"Where's the stuff?"
Yang folded his hands, and a guest in front of him quickly brought over a paper bag and a jar of wine. The words "Wuliangye" are posted on the wine jar.
Opening the paper package, there was chopped roast chicken inside. Yang Shu grabbed it and started chewing it.
The guest next to him poured a glass of wine for him with a smile and handed it over. He said: "Your Majesty, this is Wuliangye brewed for two years. It is basically not available outside. I asked Zhu Shoucai, the owner of Fengri City Tooth Shop, to buy a few jars. You can try it."
Yang Shu nodded, took a sip of roast chicken, a sip of wine, slurped twice, and took a few more mouthfuls before saying: "Not bad! This aged wine is indeed better than the ordinary Wuliangye. Put it away and take the ordinary Wuliangye Just come and drink, save this good wine and savor it slowly."
After finishing half of the roast chicken, he washed his hands in the hot water brought by the servant. Yang Shu leaned back on the chair and said, "It feels good to eat. I was greedy for the roast chicken from Zhao's old shop when I was in Wenjiang." It's great, I finally came back and finally had something to eat.
call. Tell me, what happened to me when I wasn't in the Imperial City these days? Didn't you reveal your secrets? "
"When I replied to the prince, I didn't reveal anything. Except for a limited number of people in the house, no one else knew about your visit to Wenjiang. In addition, everyone who came to the door also left messages. Have you checked it now?"
Yang Shu actually just got home and didn't bother to wash up, but business was important, so he wasn't so particular. He raised his hand and motioned for the other party to show him the name card he had received.
The guest handed over a lot of name cards, a thick stack. While Yang Shu was flipping through them, he introduced them to the side: "These are the ones left after sifting through them. Most of them are from local government offices stationed in the imperial city." The deacons nearby prepared very generous gifts, and the gift list is attached to the back of the post, but I let them take away the gifts for the time being."
Yang Shu didn't say anything. He looked at each one one by one, from the title of the post to the signature to the appendix of the gift list at the back, with a serious expression.
"These people have a very good sense of smell, and they are so courageous. They come over to me in a hurry before the matter is settled. Aren't you afraid that Ye Lansheng and the others will have objections?"
"Haha, Your Majesty, you are joking. Although they are all under the rule of Ye Lansheng locally, their subordinate relationships are too complicated. Moreover, they are all closely related. How can they be willing to fall behind others? So the subordinates thought that the further they came, the more they would fall behind. The more people will come to you.”
Yang Shu was in a good mood. The things he had done from Wenjiang had gone smoothly before. Before he came back, he heard that Bai Changqing, the Minister of Household Affairs, had ignored the war budget and grain tightening strategy proposed by the emperor. He knew in his heart that he might be in luck. Now, before the matter has officially come to fruition, he has already felt the change in the attitude of those officials who usually have high standards towards him.
"If it hasn't landed, there is still the possibility of accidents. Therefore, these posts should be kept to wait for news, and gifts are not allowed. Say hello to the people below, and you are not allowed to say anything about the money and food austerity strategy. Violators will be punished with a stick. .”
"It's the prince, my subordinates will give strict orders."
"I'm not in the imperial city these days, how can my brothers survive?" Yang Shu leaned back on the chair again, with a smile on his face again. He always has a sense of superiority when talking about his brothers. , because he chose a different path from the beginning with his brothers. It seemed silly at the time, but now they are all on the right track, with much more room for advancement and retreat than his brothers.
"The princes have been very active recently. The main competition is for civil servants, led by Ye Lansheng. A few days ago, King Jing and King Qian almost had a fight in Guanyue Tower. Ye Lansheng was present at the same table."
"Eldest brother and second brother? Hahaha, don't they always talk about "grace"? Can they also fight? Hahaha, next time we meet, we must laugh at them well..."
