Chapter 25: Exiled Minister
In the blink of an eye, it was July and the temperature in the capital was gradually getting hotter.
Yan Xuanyu felt okay. He was still wearing spring clothes and didn't feel hot sitting in Chengtian Hall.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Li Zhongxian wiping his sweat with a small handkerchief. Yan Xuanyu gently put down the brush in his hand and said, "Go wait by the ice basin."
Li Zhongxian was stunned. "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I will go and tidy up before returning to serve you in the palace."
Yan Xuanyu said "hmm" and blew on the calligraphy he had just written. When he first came here, he was a little uncomfortable. Fortunately, the original owner's handwriting was not much better. Later, Yan Xuanyu found a copy of the calligraphy of a great scholar of the time to copy, and now his writing is quite decent.
After a while, Li Zhongxian came back, but he didn't come to Yan Xuanyu's side. He was near the ice basin as Yan Xuanyu said. Fortunately, the distance was not far, so he could hear Yan Xuanyu if he spoke.
Yan Xuanyu put the paper in his hand aside and began to write on the next page.
At this time, a young eunuch asked for an audience, saying that he was from Concubine Zhang's palace and came to ask His Majesty about the Holy Birthday Festival.
Li Zhongxian brought him over and asked, "Your Majesty, will this year's Holy Birthday Festival be held according to the standards of previous years?"
Yan Xuanyu didn't even raise his eyelids: "Just watch..."
Holy Birthday?
The brush in Yan Xuanyu's hand suddenly paused, leaving a large ink spot on the rice paper.
The original owner had memories of the Saint’s Birthday!
There are many heavy rains in the south in August. For some reason, the rain is especially heavy this year, but people in the capital don’t know it. The river level rises sharply. A month after the Emperor’s Birthday, several cities in the south of the Great Zhou are hit by sudden floods, and the villages along the river in the middle and lower reaches are all submerged. When the matter was reported to the capital, the original owner, who was celebrating the Emperor’s Birthday for the first time, was very happy. Suddenly, he heard such a disappointing news. Many officials also wrote to the emperor for disaster relief. He symbolically sent an official as an imperial envoy to the disaster area for disaster relief. After arriving, the imperial envoy found that most of the carts of grain were mixed with sand, and there was very little silver for disaster relief.
Yan Xuanyu felt that the original owner was so stupid and vicious that he was beyond redemption and could even do such a thing.
The official appointed as the imperial commissioner was a fifth-rank official in the court who had no backing. His name was Feng Guangwei.
What a coincidence, this official named Feng Guangwei is also one of the officials he has been using in recent days.
The original owner was really good at picking the right people. There were not many good officials in the court, and he persecuted them all one by one.
Yan Xuanyu sighed. This matter needed to be dealt with without delay. There was only more than a month left. He immediately summoned Feng Guangwei in secret.
...
The next day, in the Golden Palace.
Yan Xuanyu sat on the dragon throne with half-closed eyes, listening to the officials below arguing fiercely.
He has come to understand how quarrelsome the literati are these days. People with different political views can quarrel about anything. They quarrel in the court and even write poems to criticize each other outside the court.
What they were arguing about today was the matter of General Yuan Kang returning to the capital to report on his work. Yuan Kang had been guarding the periphery of the border for several years. Great changes had taken place in the capital this year, with the new emperor ascending the throne. Many officials said that the general should return to the court.
Speaking of Yuan Kang, Yan Xuanyu sighed again.
Yuan Kang was an expert at leading troops and fighting battles. He came from a family of military officers. Both his grandfather and father died in battle. When he was young, he joined the army and started as an ordinary soldier at the lowest level in the camp. He was quite famous in the army.
The Akabane Army he led had strict military discipline and very strong combat effectiveness. It is no exaggeration to say that Yuan Kang was the guardian god standing at the Dazhou Pass.
The existence of Yuan Kang and the Chiyu Army is a blessing for the Great Zhou.
However, the current Great Zhou is an unfortunate thing for Yuan Kang. The Great Zhou emphasizes civil officials over military officials, and civil officials look down on military officials. Most of the officials in the court of the Great Zhou are civil officials.
This Emperor's Birthday Festival was also a turning point in Yuan Kang's fate - because all the officials believed that Yuan Kang should return to Beijing, the original owner had no opinion and only knew how to enjoy himself. He was instigated by the people around him and believed that Yuan Kang had rebellious intentions, so he was very afraid of the military power in his hands.
Furthermore, the Great Zhou treasury was already scarce, and the original owner had barely enough for his own enjoyment, so how could he possibly treat the soldiers at the border with any favor? Furthermore, when the Turks marched south, Yuan Kang had already died in the capital, leaving no one to lead the troops. Furthermore, the soldiers were already living in extreme poverty, let alone marching into battle.
Yan Xuanyu waited until the noisy voices in the Golden Throne Hall gradually died down. He looked at Jiang Yuanhua and asked, "Prime Minister Jiang, what do you think about this?"
Jiang Yuanhua, who had been silent at first, was prompted by the emperor. After a moment of hesitation, he stepped out and saluted, saying, "Your Majesty, I believe that what Lord Wang said makes sense. The general who guards the country should be summoned back to the capital to report on his duties on the occasion of the emperor's birthday..."
Yan Xuanyu listened patiently to Jiang Yuanhua's roundabout way of saying, "Yuan Kang's refusal to return to the capital to report on his work means that he does not take Your Majesty seriously. He is worthy of death, Your Majesty." He was amazed in his heart that someone could make a simple sentence sound so eloquent.
But Jiang Yuanhua seemed to be stating what he meant by "Lord Wang" as if it had nothing to do with him.
After hearing this, Yan Xuanyu's face darkened, and he said angrily, "Prime Minister Jiang is right. What are the intentions of those who say that General Yuan Kang should not be summoned back to the capital?"
"Your Majesty, calm down!"
But at this moment, someone without any tact stepped forward and added fuel to the fire: "Your Majesty, I think the Turks have been causing chaos at the border recently, and this is the time when we need a general to protect the country!"
Yan Xuanyu squinted his eyes and looked over. "Who are you?"
The official said calmly, "I am Feng Guangwei, the Minister of Justice."
Yan Xuanyu chuckled and said, "You are very clear about border affairs."
"Your Majesty, General Yuan Kang has repelled the Turks several times since he took up his post at the border. The Akabane Army he leads is deeply loved by the people, and wherever he goes, he is greeted with festivities. I believe that General Yuan is most needed at the border now."
Many officials thought to themselves that this doctor was so stupid, as if he was afraid that he would not be able to arouse the emperor's fear of Yuan Kang.
The few officials who had originally spoken in support of Yuan Kang also fell silent and stood with their heads down.
"Oh? The general who defends the country has made such great contributions that he can't even care about the emperor's birthday?"
After saying that, he paused and continued, "Or according to your opinion... Is Yuan Kang the only general at the border?!"
His tone suddenly became heavier when he said the last sentence. Since Yan Xuanyu ascended the throne, he had not learned anything else, but he had learned the emperor's majesty to the utmost.
Everyone saw the official named Feng Guangwei's face change.
After saying this, the officials all understood that the emperor meant to let Yuan Kang return to the capital, and the emperor had already begun to fear Yuan Kang.
Since coming to this world, Yan Xuanyu has increasingly discovered that although the officials and aristocratic families in the capital have constrained many of his ideas, they will not pose any threat to his "imperial power" in reality.
Even officials and aristocratic families in the capital city still needed to rely on imperial power for their survival.
There is a saying that "it takes ten years for intellectuals to succeed in a rebellion." Although these officials are powerful and can affect the entire body with a single move, whoever holds the military power has the confidence. This is why they are willing to risk their lives to send the second generation of officials to the Imperial Guard and the Imperial Guard.
This is also the reason why the officials in the capital are so eager to show favoritism to Yan Xuanyu.
Although the military power is definitely not held by Yuan Kang alone, the reputation and prestige of the Chiyu Army alone are enough to make them wary. They say that the other military officers may be incompetent and their soldiers are also loose. It’s all because Yuan Kang, who is guarding the Dazhou Pass, is too outstanding.
But Yan Xuanyu felt that it was far more than that. Yuan Kang was targeted to this extent, perhaps some officials in the court had already been bribed by some force.
In the Golden Palace, all the officials saw Feng Guangwei, who was the first to speak out, facing the emperor's wrath, and they all stood aside in silence, calmly.
"Since Mr. Feng thinks my birthday is unimportant, then there is no need to celebrate it in the capital."
Everyone only heard the emperor sitting on the dragon throne say this slowly.
His voice was not loud, but it could be heard clearly by everyone.
"Fifth-rank doctor Feng Guangwei's words are no less than those of the Golden Palace. He is immediately exiled to Fengxian City and is not allowed to return to the capital without a summons!"
Everyone looked at Feng Guangwei again, only to see him collapse to the ground, his face pale as if drained of all his strength. He said, "Your Majesty, I bow to you and thank you."
[Successfully sent two ministers abroad, reward points 20.]
...
Feng Mansion.
Mrs. Han was sewing a summer undershirt for her master when she suddenly felt something jump in her heart.
She paused, and a drop of blood appeared on her index finger.
"Madam!" the little maid next to her called out.
Mrs. Han finally came to her senses. She wiped the blood off her hand and continued sewing the inner garment.
At this moment, the servants in the mansion came running in in a panic, "It's bad, madam, it's bad, madam!"
The little maid stepped forward and scolded, "What's the matter? Why are you so unruly?"
The servant didn't have time to say anything. His face turned pale as he said, "Madam, this is bad! The master..."
The news of the emperor's rage in the Golden Palace spread quickly throughout the capital.
The servant could barely stammer out a complete sentence: "The master was exiled because he said something wrong in the court..."
Mrs. Han's body swayed and she almost fell down.
How could this happen? Her husband had always been extremely cautious, so how could he have provoked the Emperor's wrath in the court?
At this time, another servant came running over, "Madam, many guards have arrived outside the mansion! They have surrounded the Feng Mansion!"
Mrs. Han slumped in her chair.
...
That night, a carriage escorted by a group of guards drove out of the capital and headed towards Fengxian City.
Mrs. Han sat in the carriage in a daze. She looked back at the towering city wall.
There were only her and two maids in the carriage. She announced to the outside world that Lord Feng and Madam Feng were leaving the capital by carriage, but in fact, her husband Feng Guangwei had already galloped to Fengxian City.
She hadn't figured out the situation yet, as it all happened so suddenly - their mansion was sold to someone else, but her husband told her not to take too many things, just some clothes and belongings.
During their brief meeting, Feng Guangwei simply held her hand and said, "Madam, thank you for your hard work."
Mrs. Han recalled everything her husband had said, and then recalled the expression on his face when he spoke... If he was to be exiled, why would her husband rush to take up the post?
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