Chapter 91 Jiang Mingan
A few days later, Jiang Yuyan met General Jiang Mingan, who commanded an army of 100,000 in the northern border, in the imperial study.
When she came in, the man was standing to one side, half of his body in the light and shadow coming through the screen window. He looked distant and desolate. The two looked at each other.
Emperor Sheng Yuan took Jiang Yuyan's hand with a smile, asked the eunuch to serve tea and cakes, then turned around and talked to the man standing below.
Jiang Yuyan looked at Jiang Mingan calmly. Rumor has it that this man is ferocious and ugly, but in her eyes, he is a handsome guy with a strong complexion!
The man was tall and had a majestic figure. The part below his neck was darkened by the northern wind, but his face was very fair, forming a clear dividing line.
The eye folds were very wide, the eye sockets were particularly deep, and the pupils were extremely black and bright, like black pearls from the deep sea. Although her face was expressionless and had a cold and murderous look, it still did not hide her beauty.
No wonder I heard that General Yuheng always wore a mask when he went into battle. His outstanding appearance was really inconsistent with the image of a general commanding an army of 100,000.
Jiang Mingan noticed Jiang Yuyan's gaze and his eyelids trembled slightly. The long and curly crow feathers looked like the flapping wings of a butterfly, leaving a beautiful arc under his eyes.
Jiang Yuyan found it interesting, and she is also a master of eyelashes!
"Ming'an, you are the Queen's nephew and also my nephew. You have suffered a lot in the northern border over the years. Now it's time for you to start a family and build a career. So you should stay in the capital for a while." Emperor Sheng Yuan spoke lightly, with a loving look.
Jiang Yuyan understood that this was house arrest in the capital and she could only move freely within the capital.
Jiang Mingan said expressionlessly, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Jiang Yuyan heard the Queen gossip about Jiang Mingan. Jiang Mingan had been engaged to Li Ruyun, the most talented woman in the capital, the daughter of the Minister of Rites who had danced at the palace banquet that year.
Logically speaking, Li Ruyun was of a lower status than the general's family, but the general's family was powerful, and a relative without real power would be better for them. Moreover, they were a military family, and they really wanted to marry such a learned mistress. The general's wife proposed this marriage to Jiang Ming'an a few years ago.
Unexpectedly, after Li Ruyun came of age, she heard that Jiang Ming'an was tall and strong, ugly and ferocious, and she was so scared that she forced her father to cancel the engagement.
The General's Mansion naturally refused. In this era, men whose engagements were broken off had a bad reputation and it was difficult for them to find a good marriage again.
Li Ruyun was a person who could handle things. She personally wrote a letter to Jiang Mingan, and soon Jiang Mingan wrote back to the general's mansion, asking his mother not to make things difficult for the other party and to call off the marriage.
Jiang Yuyan felt amused. If Jiang Mingan was raised in the capital, he would probably become a handsome and elegant young man. She wondered if Li Ruyun would regret it then.
A few days later, the spy brought a message that Dao Sunji was eliminating dissidents in the northern border. Jiang Mingan once had four deputy generals, and the remaining three were dismissed or marginalized by him. Instead, he promoted a few close deputies.
Sun Ji's ambition is obvious, and Jiang Yuyan feels that the matter is becoming more and more difficult, but she believes in Jiang Mingan's Northern Border Army. He is a famous general with great military achievements, and the soldiers have a conscience of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism. It will not be easy for Sun Ji to establish his prestige in the Northern Border.
Jiang Yuyan sent someone to send an anonymous copy of the news to the general's mansion, hoping that they would make plans early.
Before this wave subsided, another wave arose. Half a month later, Huzhou was hit by a sudden flood.
In the imperial study, Emperor Sheng Yuan was looking worried, and several princes were standing beside him anxiously.
"The flood in Huzhou has submerged several counties, countless people have been killed or injured, and they have been displaced. Who among you is willing to control the flood?" Emperor Sheng Yuan looked at his adult sons and asked majestically.
Throughout history, when it comes to flood control, there has been a lot of corruption among officials, both high and low. If a prince were in charge, it would surely be able to deter some of them.
But for a moment there was complete silence.
It will take time to control the flood. If I leave the court, it will be difficult to seize the position of the Eastern Palace. Besides, the flood is a thankless task. If I can't control it, I will lose the chance of that position completely.
Emperor Sheng Yuan was somewhat disappointed. It was understandable that his eldest son had little strategic vision; his fifth son was still young; but his fourth son, whom he usually favored, showed no emotion at all.
This was the strange scene that Jiang Yuyan saw when she walked in.
Seeing that Emperor Sheng Yuan was in a righteous mood, she obediently poured him a cup of tea.
Then he served tea to each prince one by one. When he walked in front of the second prince Xie Yuan, Jiang Yuyan quickly raised her eyes to look at him and nodded imperceptibly.
Xie Yuan had no choice but to step out and said, "Father, although I am a humble and incompetent person, I am willing to issue an imperial decree to summon capable people to offer advice. I will go to Huzhou to control the flood and resettle the victims."
"Good, good!" Emperor Sheng Yuan praised with satisfaction, feeling content in his heart that he finally had a sensible son.
"Make a list of the people you need in the court, and ask the Ministry of Revenue to allocate the required silver and materials."
"Yes! Father!" Xie Yuan said respectfully.
Xie Yuan was uncertain after receiving the assignment. He had no experience in flood control, but his mother told him to follow the Saint's instructions, so he had no choice but to follow her wishes and take on this hot potato. But he still needed to seek advice from his mother.
"Why do you want my son to deal with the flood?" In the Pepper Palace, Empress Hua looked at Jiang Yuyan with dissatisfaction.
"Your Majesty, please allow me to report. Although flood control has always been a difficult problem, if the Second Prince can do a good job in it, it will be a great benefit to the country. The ministers in the court will also look at you differently, and it will also be a great help in the future competition for the throne."
"But Yuan'er has no experience. If she doesn't do the job well..." Queen Hua was worried.
"Your Majesty, don't worry. Let the Second Prince bring more court officials with him. If things go wrong in the future, there will be someone to share the blame. And I have some good ideas that may be useful to the Second Prince..." Jiang Yuyan said respectfully. But in her heart, she complained: "If you don't dare to do this, you don't have to sit in that position..."
"Oh? The Saint actually has this talent!" Empress Hua's brows relaxed and she pulled Jiang Yuyan's wrist enthusiastically, "It's amazing!"
"Your Majesty, you are too kind. It's just that I read too many miscellaneous books when I was young." Jiang Yuyan replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.
Empress Hua looked at this extremely beautiful woman, who was extremely intelligent but not arrogant or impatient, and thought to herself, "If the Saint Lady is not interested in Your Majesty, I wonder which of my sons would you like?"
Xie Yuan happened to hear this when he came in. His ears turned red and he couldn't speak clearly. "Give me your respects, my mother."
Empress Hua looked at her second son with great interest and said with a smile, "I was just talking about you with the Saint. The Saint is very talented and has some good suggestions for you on how to control the flood. You should ask her for advice."
"Yes, mother." Xie Yuan's ears turned even redder.
Jiang Yuyan thought to herself that she dared not do that, as she was Xie Yuan's aunt! So she greeted Xie Yuan with a smile and flexibly modified some modern water control methods in her memory and told Xie Yuan.
Xie Yuan nodded excitedly as he listened.
"All the methods of flood control that I know of are theoretical. Your Highness needs to apply them flexibly according to the actual situation. In addition, Your Highness should bring more troops with you. Don't be afraid of mobilizing a large number of troops. These officials of the court usually eat the emperor's food and have a full stomach. It's time for them to move.
If you need the required materials, go to the Minister of Revenue, Qin Shangyu. He is efficient and will get it done for you.
In addition, we can mobilize the wealthy businessmen in Huzhou to donate money for disaster relief and carve a monument to their merits. They will definitely respond positively.”
Jiang Yuyan reminded Xie Yuan of every detail, "Your Highness must remember to cover your mouth and nose with a towel when you are outside, and burn and bury any corpses you encounter to prevent the plague. This is very important, Your Highness must remember."
"Okay!" Xie Yuan listened to her sweet voice and thoughtfulness, and couldn't help but feel grateful in his heart. He clasped his fists and bowed to Jiang Yuyan, "Thank you, Saint!"
Jiang Yuyan treated him as a cousin and patted his shoulder with satisfaction. Xie Yuan blushed with shame. Empress Hua also laughed at the side.
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