Chapter 17 The Emperor Returns to the Capital
When Yan Xuanyu lived in the villa, he often took walks outside as a form of exercise. He would also take a look at the condition of the land on the villa, and speculate on the current land conditions in Da Zhou based on what he saw. He was not a professional in agriculture, but he had read relevant books when he had nothing to do in his previous life. So he relied on his memory and asked the old farmers in the fields to see if there was any room for improvement in the fertilization methods being implemented nearby.
After a while, probably because he was in a relaxed mood, Yan Xuanyu's complexion looked much better and he had some strength in his body.
In late April, the emperor returned to the capital.
Because the cabinet assisted in government affairs, not many memorials were accumulated, and only the important ones were sent to Chengtian Hall.
As soon as Yan Xuanyu came back, he went to Chengtian Hall to read the memorials sent by the cabinet in recent days.
Previously, Yan Xuanyu took advantage of the Wang Jun incident to swiftly issue orders to crack down on the younger generations of the aristocratic families. Later, he left the palace and went to the southern suburbs, leaving the affairs of the court to the cabinet members. He also wanted to paralyze the aristocratic families and some officials in the capital, making them feel that he, the emperor, had no intention of consolidating power and would not touch their interests.
Yan Xuanyu's departure from the capital gave these people a chance to relax. Some of them had not yet awakened from the previous emperor's dynasty. If the situation remained the same, Yan Xuanyu would not hesitate to take action.
During the time he was away from Beijing, he also entrusted the task of changing the layout of the capital to Jingzhao Yin Xie Luxing.
The Jingzhao Yin of the Great Zhou Dynasty was responsible for managing all affairs of the capital, but by this time, the power of the Jingzhao Yin had been weakened to a great extent. The Jingzhao Yin's rank was not high, but the affairs of the capital he managed inevitably involved high-ranking officials and nobles.
In the capital city where royal nobles and world clans gather, one can offend important people if one is not careful, just like the case of Wang Jun. Because he was involved with court officials and the rank of the officials in the court was far higher than his, Jingzhao Yin Xie Luxing was hesitant and delayed in making a decision.
Yan Xuanyu dealt with Wang Jun and others according to the law, but did not punish Xie Luxing. In the current situation, the status of the world's big families is so high, and the voice of ordinary people is powerless. Xie Luxing accepted the case and did not drive away the mother and son who reported the case to the police. It was only later shelved due to pressure from higher-ups.
Yan Xuanyu felt that based on this point, Xie Luxing might not be a good official, but he was not completely bad either.
If the court was full of talented people, Xie Luxing would probably be removed from the post of Jingzhao Yin because of this incident, but after Yan Xuanyu ascended the throne, he was short of people, and he found that Xie Luxing could still be used after being called upon and given some training.
So Yan Xuanyu handed the task of laying out the periphery of the capital to him. Firstly, this matter was a matter of the capital and was the duty of the Jingzhao Yin; secondly, it was also a chance for Xie Luxing to make amends. If he did a good job, the previous matter would not be pursued.
Xie Luxing also knew that the emperor was giving him an opportunity by entrusting him with the task of building roads in the city, so he worked extra hard.
The road repairs in the capital are going well. I heard that Xie Luxing not only inspects the progress of the road repairs every day but also helps passers-by regardless of his status. Now he has a good reputation among the people in the capital.
This time, Xie Luxing not only received an imperial edict from Yan Xuanyu to build the road, but also had to improve the drainage facilities in the capital while building the road.
The drainage system of the capital city is average. It may not be a big deal in ancient times and no one would care. But if Yan Xuanyu looks at it from a slightly more formal perspective, he will find that the drainage system of the capital city of the Great Zhou Dynasty is too chaotic.
When it rains, the streets become muddy and dirty water flows everywhere.
The area where the wealthy and powerful families live is relatively neat and clean, and the drainage is also good - it would be even better if East Street did not rely on its high terrain to drain the water to another place.
That’s right, the first generation of aristocratic families who settled in East Street raised the foundations when they built their mansions, allowing sewage to flow to the outskirts of the capital. As for who would be flooded, they had no control over it.
Therefore, the sewage in areas that are already difficult to discharge on rainy days has become even more difficult to discharge due to the influx of sewage from East Street.
Improving drainage facilities wasn't Yan Xuanyu's forte. He could use his descendants' wisdom to guide farming practices in other villages, but he had no idea how to plan drainage systems. The best he could do was suggest digging canals along the roadsides. Fortunately, the palace had no shortage of skilled artisans, and Yan Xuanyu easily found the skilled workers responsible for the palace's drainage system and sent them to help Xie Luxing.
But even if they could come up with a good plan, they still needed to understand the layout and terrain of the capital beforehand. Just when Xie Luxing was in a panic, a minor official under him suddenly came up with a practical plan, which solved Xie Luxing's urgent problem and saved his position as Jingzhao Yin.
Xie Luxing brought the blueprint to the palace and presented it to Yan Xuanyu. The blueprint clearly marked where to drain the water, where to dig channels for drainage, and how to discharge the collected sewage to prevent it from becoming rotten.
Yan Xuanyu took a closer look and found that the map was of great practical value, so he immediately asked Xie Luxing to take charge of it.
As for the source of this blueprint, Xie Luxing did not hide it and told Yan Xuanyu that it was presented to him by a minor official named Su An.
Xie Luxing also reported one thing: the road construction and excavation in the capital brought many inconveniences to the people. It was Su An who proposed to compensate them to reassure the people, which allowed the road construction to proceed so smoothly.
"Su An?" Yan Xuanyu repeated the name. In the original owner's memory, there was no official named Su An...
"I will remember this man. If improving the capital's drainage according to his drawings is truly effective, I will definitely reward him."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Xie Luxing said gratefully.
After Xie Lu left, Yan Xuanyu continued to deal with the memorials received during his time away from the palace. Most of them were not important, and he only needed to stamp an imperial seal to indicate that he knew them.
Wait...Su An?
The name suddenly flashed in Yan Xuanyu's mind, Su An, this person existed in the original owner's memory!
But that was in the latter years of the original owner's reign. By then, Su An had reached middle age, no longer a minor official under the Jingzhao Yin. He had entered the imperial court—to be able to attend court meetings, one had to be at least a sixth or seventh rank official. At that time, the Turks had successively conquered several cities of the Great Zhou, burning, killing, and looting within them. The original owner, however, wanted to sue for peace, offering to cede cities and send a royal daughter in marriage. However, there were still a few advocates of war within the court, and Su An was one of them. He spoke harshly in the Jinluan Hall, repeatedly petitioning the original owner to resist the Turks. In anger, the original owner stripped him of his official rank and sent him to the Turks to negotiate peace, where he was killed on the way.
The original owner sent other officials, but the Turks ignored the original owner, the Emperor of the Great Zhou, and instead went south and finally captured the capital.
Yan Xuanyu was pulled out of the original owner's memory. Now Su An is still a young official under the Jingzhao Yin. I wonder how many years of ups and downs he had to go through in the original owner's world before he could enter the Golden Palace.
He took out the drawing presented by Xie Luxing and looked at it carefully. Yan Xuanyu found that the map was even accurate to the direction of the doors of the people's houses in a certain alley and the slope of the ground. When Xie Luxing presented the drawing just now, Yan Xuanyu took a look at the whole thing. Now, after looking at it carefully, he realized how detailed the outskirts of the capital city were drawn on this drawing.
Yan Xuanyu silently remembered the name Su An in his heart.
In just a few days, earth-shaking changes took place in the outskirts of the capital. However, people of status and position who lived close to the imperial city did not care about these changes. Any disturbance in the palace would be reported. They all had their own channels of information and knew that after the emperor returned from the southern suburbs, he issued an edict to the Jingzhao Yin to expand the road. They did not care about what happened to the people outside the capital. They only needed to know what the emperor did.
Perhaps it was Yan Xuanyu's current image that made some officials think he had a good temper. Recently, one or two officials submitted memorials to advise His Majesty to be diligent in his work after returning to the palace and not to neglect government affairs because of trivial matters.
...
A plain and simple carriage drove out from the south gate of the imperial palace and continued slowly southward. It would pass through the outer area of the capital city.
When Yan Xuanyu heard that people in the capital called this place the outskirts of the capital, and that the East Street where the dignitaries lived was the capital, he felt that the capital needed planning not only in terms of roads, but also in other aspects.
"This road is still so bumpy even after it was repaired." Yan Xuanyu lifted the carriage curtain and looked out. Actually, it was quite good. The roads in the capital had been smoothed and widened. At least at a glance, there were no bumps or depressions.
The main road in front of the main gate of the palace is paved with blue bricks, and all important main roads in the capital are also paved with blue bricks, but other places are mostly paved with cultivated soil mixed with other things to form hard roads. The carriage that Yan Xuanyu is riding in now is traveling on such a road.
"Sir, this road is much smoother than before." Li Zhongxian, who was waiting outside, said with a smile.
Yan Xuanyu shook his head in his heart and decided to wait for some time. He couldn't accomplish everything at once. He had to wait until the people gradually accepted this kind of governance. When the Great Zhou became more developed, he could build cement roads in the capital. That way, he wouldn't have to worry about mud when it rained.
Yan Xuanyu observed that many of the small paths extending into the alleys were cobblestone roads paved with stones by the people themselves.
It seems that Xie Luxing’s efforts for the people these days have not been in vain.
There are shops in the capital, many of which are owned by various aristocratic families, who basically monopolize all the businesses in the capital.
Yan Xuanyu's idea of gathering the itinerant small vendors in the capital city was not realized in the end. Now the business development run by the people in the capital city has not reached the point where a shopping mall can be opened, so Yan Xuanyu gave up the idea for the time being.
But his proposed method was not entirely unhelpful. Several new "morning markets" were established in the region under government management. Unlike the previous period, when vendors moved freely and occupied space everywhere, a new order was established after the Jingzhao Yin and government officials intervened. Vendors were arranged in two rows on either side, with a space for people to pass through in the middle.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
