Chapter 79: Business "She won't understand, won't support, but still...
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The rainy season seems to have passed, but because it is still spring, a little moist rain will occasionally fall, making the sky and the earth damp, like a young girl's eyes, always sad and full of poetry.
Yunzhong City is a place rich in literary allusions and natural beauty. It is home to countless literati and poets. Perhaps any tavern will have the pens of great writers on the wall. I heard that there was a time when some wealthy businessmen came here to buy walls - yes, they bought a wall, built the entire wall, and carried it back to their mansions, and they crashed into it.
It's a miracle.
But after doing it many times, it became a good reputation. Many literary masters were proud of their "art of moving walls" for others. It can be said that celebrities who have not had this experience would not be able to announce their level to their peers.
However, since Guanzhong City was inspired and determined to attract celebrities to develop the ancient city, it directly stopped these special transactions and did not allow casual transactions. It also encouraged local restaurants to use literature and art to attract poets, creating the reputation of "the world's literary talents stay here."
I don’t know whether these literati and poets can be retained, but quite a few nobles from Chang’an have come here recently.
Wei Tingzhong was no ordinary person, and was feared by everyone in the government and the country, not to mention that many dignitaries in Chang'an had come to Guanzhong City.
Even came yesterday.
Although they are very close and can go back and forth in half a day, it is strange that so many people rush to come here.
Is it related to Magnolia Festival?
But there are still several days before the Magnolia Festival, and most of the nobles in Chang'an usually come on that day.
Now it seems that he had sensed the defeat of King Qi and was rushing to avoid the disturbance by coming to Guanzhong City to hide, and the reason was also appropriate.
Who knows.
The plague god Wei Tingzhong has also arrived, and His Majesty has issued an edict to pray for the souls of the soldiers and generals who died unjustly in Xuerengou.
Then...I can't leave.
I left without knowing how bad it would sound if the news got out.
Some officials in the family immediately stopped their relatives from planning to flee again and asked them to stay in Guanzhong City until the matter was resolved.
Fortunately, because of his broken arm, King Qi had completely cut off his path to the summit and there was no turning back, so not many people were willing to risk their lives.
Otherwise, if there really was an incident or a real rebellion with real weapons, Chang'an would be a river of blood, and the ones who would suffer the most would be the aristocratic families like them, who would be in much greater danger than ordinary people.
So, after some thought, these people felt that the current situation was not bad.
But the prestige of Prince Yan's Mansion became strong again, catching up with its heyday.
After all, it seems that many adult princes are not of any significance at the moment. The little princes are young after all, and the oldest is only thirteen. Their reputation and ability are far inferior to those of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Each one is more shabby than the other. How can they compare with the Prince Yan's Mansion?
Even for the future of the empire, the cabinet and officials were more inclined to Prince Yan's Palace.
Of course, they did not like the dominance of Prince Yan and his son. It is inevitable that when the monarch is strong, the ministers will be weak. But it is better than having a coward who ruins the country. More ministers died at that time. Throughout history, most of the ministers who met with incompetent monarchs were flatterers, and the other ministers did not have a good end, because the flatterers could not tolerate others.
Do they want to be sycophants?
I really don’t want to.
"It's only been a dozen years since the previous dynasty collapsed, and the country was just beginning to be established. Most of these officials are still remnants of the previous dynasty. They are already very secretive about the change of dynasty. The family has been passed down for hundreds of years, and the history books are like this. It all depends on the climate of the new dynasty and whether they choose the right one. If not, there is no guarantee of the future."
The inheritance of ordinary people depends on food and reproduction. The quality of the inheritance depends on fate. No one wants to have descendants for thousands of years.
It is common for a family to be killed after three generations. No one remembers the names of their grandparents, and they don’t even know where their graves are.
The aristocratic families are greedy and seek to rise up, to pass on their legacy, to have the protection of their ancestors and grandchildren, and to have continuous incense.
If the family, the country and the court are not in good order and disputes arise again, there will be another "Chiang" who will rise up in rebellion, and they will have a legitimate reason, and the first reason they will use is to purge the court or restore the previous dynasty.
The ones who would be targeted would naturally be the old ministers or aristocratic families who had once betrayed their master.
Therefore, Yan Siqing knew that reputation was important, let alone these aristocratic families that had been passed down for hundreds of years.
The most famous hill and spring valley in Guanzhong City is home to some attics and courtyards, most of which are elegant houses or hot spring manors, and the owners are of course nobles.
The Liao family is a century-old family. They built a courtyard building in a secluded place. Looking out from the balcony on the second floor of the teahouse, you can see the bamboo forest, tea mountains, secluded valley, Jinlin Lake and so on.
The grandmother of the Liao family had no servants left, and only had her granddaughter and youngest son, so she patiently told them about the past.
Five days have passed since the imperial edict.
The day after tomorrow is a ceremony.
The little granddaughter was puzzled. "But the previous emperor was extremely incompetent and corrupted the government, causing the people to suffer. This is a well-known fact. Your Majesty is a wise ruler. You have conquered the world and pacified the four directions. You have made great achievements. Now the government and the people are prosperous, and the empire has abundant military strength. Why should you be so cautious?"
Liao's grandmother sighed and didn't know how to say it.
Liao San, who hadn't even had time to trim his stubble before bringing local specialties from other places to honor the old hen, patted his little girl's head and said, "You little fool, after that tyrant emperor... there's a new emperor."
The young girl was confused, but Liao San was hit on the head by her old mother.
"You are confused. How old was she then? She wasn't even born yet."
Um, that’s right.
Grandmother Liao sighed, "That tyrant emperor is undoubtedly the cause of much suffering in the world."
"But it's hard to say what about the new emperor."
Well, it’s hard to say.
She spoke so convincingly that one could imagine that the father and son looked alike.
It could be that they were different from their father and son, but the clever little granddaughter still managed to discern something. Judging by the cautiousness of the old ministers of the previous dynasty, it seemed that the new emperor... wasn't too bad? But before he could secure his throne, rebellions had already taken place in various places, and many rebelled against the king. So...
If the new emperor of the dynasty was innocent, or even clear-headed and upright, and had the appearance of being able to save the country, then the local warlords competing for power at that time would have no legitimate reason.
That really can't be discussed in detail.
It may bring about a catastrophic disaster.
Why didn't the little granddaughter understand that if the new emperor had a chance, why did those old ministers...still turn against him?
One reason is definitely because His Majesty is so powerful, but there are definitely other factors as well.
The Liao family's grandmother and Liao San exchanged a glance, hesitated, and Liao San offered tea to his mother, then took the initiative to mention, "The new emperor is kind and benevolent, but compared to his empress, he is still a little weaker."
Everything is implied.
Just enough.
The little granddaughter was confused, then suddenly realized what was going on, and then she became silent.
No matter how young she was or how taboo the outside world was, she still knew about Empress Xie.
Normally no one mentions it, and everyone deliberately forgets it, but she is always involved in many major events.
Including some policies and the origin of female officials.
It's all because of her.
His Majesty has not completely overturned it.
So, it was those old ministers who could not accept the emperor and empress ruling the country, but Empress Xie was more powerful than the new emperor and was in control?
Grandmother glanced at her, as if understanding her thoughts. She paused and said, "It's not easy for women in this world to stand out."
In this world, men ultimately want to dominate. Any other men who come to snatch it will be like a rooster with its feathers standing on end, let alone women.
Those old ministers just can't express their inner paranoia, but if they really want to blame Empress Xie for her mistakes back then, until now... as losers, they don't have much dirty water to throw.
This shows how empty these old ministers are inside.
The little granddaughter said gloomily, "Is it as difficult as that Mr. Yan's?"
When Liao San heard this name, he hesitated for a moment, "Is it the Master Yan from our inn?"
It had only been a short time since he mentioned it again.
There are so many emotions in the words.
"You weren't there, so you don't know how powerful it is."
The little granddaughter's eyes lit up, "Then Daddy, you weren't at the White Horse Temple, so you didn't know how powerful it was."
"She only took one day!"
Liao San: "She spent the whole night in the post station!"
"Huh!" The little granddaughter thought for a moment and then said, "Then you didn't know she was in Liujia Village. She didn't even arrive there overnight, and she solved the case in less than two hours."
“…”
They were not at the scene, and now we are only relying on what our family members who are officials in the Dali Temple said.
There are many members of the Liao family who hold official positions, but not many of them are outstanding. Most of them are the backbone of various departments. They are the kind of people who do not have much power but are very busy doing practical work.
This is actually safer, and this is also the family tradition of the Liao family.
"I heard that the man who was ordered by His Majesty to take charge of the case at Tingyu Tower in Qiuquan Valley is also here, and someone from the Dali Temple has also arrived."
The little granddaughter's eyes lit up and she straightened her dress. "But what about the area in the center of Jinlin Lake? Then I'll go there with my sisters to see the phosphorescent fish jumping! I'll go right away."
She ran away.
As the door closed, Liao San lowered his head and sighed, "Grandmother, it's hard to say why these old ministers and our family didn't stand on Empress Xie's side back then. It was mainly because we found out that Empress Xie wanted to weaken the aristocratic families, give power to the public, set up departments and departments, and supervise each other."
The Jiang family was an aristocratic family at that time, the first-class one, the kind that had already threatened the orthodoxy of the royal family. The Xie family, which was at its peak at that time, was also among them.
Zhou Jiang is second.
The Liao family belongs to the third echelon.
They all didn't understand why Empress Xie, who came from the same powerful family, wanted to weaken the aristocratic families and give power to the talents chosen by the people.
They understand the principle, but who is willing to cut their own flesh?
The old grandmother held her forehead and sighed, "I heard that Empress Xie wasn't born in the Xie family, but rather wandered around, raised in the marketplace. Perhaps because of this, she understands the hardships of life. If that were all, she could only be considered kind and benevolent. But she was born with extraordinary talent, brave and courageous, and had unique ideas. After returning to the Xie family, she rose to glory, crushing all the other Xie sons and suffocating them. Even her marriage back then was chosen by her own choice—she chose the Seventh Prince, who was then just an insignificant prince. She accompanied him all the way from the Qiandi Palace, fighting her way up to become the Crown Prince, the new Emperor, and finally the Empress."
She was later known as Empress Xie of Ye.
Looking back, she was indeed ambitious and had great ambitions. The old ministers were right in their judgment on this point, but was this judgment wrong?
Facts have proved that many of her policies were correct, and the new dynasty was indeed much more stable in the first few years, and showed signs of vitality. However, at that time, the local powerful families had already torn their relations apart because of the incompetent monarch, and there were many who rebelled against the king. There was no turning back for either side.
This is the case with the Chiang family.
Even at that time, Empress Xie proposed the policy of "clearing away dust and dirt, clearing away disputes, and letting bygones be bygones for improper policies."
No one believes it, and no one wants to believe it.
The most important thing is that the princes and generals in various places all know that they are the powerful families who have grown stronger by occupying the local fiefdoms. They are a threat to the middle section. They either surrender and weaken themselves, or try to survive.
No choice.
Moreover, they all believed that the new emperor only valued Empress Xie and lacked the aura of an emperor. The core of Empress Xie's policies was to weaken the power of the aristocratic families, emphasize the selection of candidates from all families without rank, let merchants and farmers exercise sovereignty over the people, encourage people's livelihood, and abolish slavery.
Then... not allowed.
So...an irreversible situation arose.
They are all positions, there is no right or wrong.
Just look at success or failure.
No problem.
But when they talk about the past, they also feel regretful.
The old grandmother looked out the window. "In recent years, it seems His Majesty has actually somewhat agreed with her policies, at least when it comes to weakening the local powerful families... Only after ascending to the Supreme Throne did he realize this was inevitable."
The Liao family noticed this and quickly changed their attitude, forcing their children to take root at the grassroots level.
Someone has to do the work, and no one can get rid of the animals that do the work but don't get much benefit. The ones who suffer the most are often the top ones who benefit the most.
Liao San: "But I'm very curious about His Majesty's attitude towards the Yan family... Yan Siqing's specialness is not only her personal life, but also the extermination of the Yan family. If it's a false accusation, then investigate it. If it involves palace secrets, then don't investigate, or... just take ruthless action."
"But it seems like His Majesty and Prince Yan are playing a tug-of-war over the Yan family's affairs. It's hard to understand."
"Now that Prince Qi has been defeated, Your Majesty has no other choice, so he chose to give in and show favor to the Yan family?"
The old grandmother shook her head, not quite sure, but after a while, someone came outside to ask for permission and let in a wealthy old lady.
It brought a message.
The emperor did not come, but the two princes, the two young princes and the heirs of the royal palaces all came.
They also have to show up on Magnolia Day.
"They just sent people to invite Mr. Yan to a banquet, but Mr. Yan had no connections, so Lord Wei declined all of their requests."
"He only said: The Suzaku Envoy is the personal envoy of His Majesty. No one can force him to come before His Majesty."
"Unless you cross the emperor."
"The royal family was so frightened that they withdrew their troops."
The old lady had a strange expression on her face, as if she was thinking something wrong.
Liao San and his grandmother were also very scared.
No way.
Is that what you mean?
It's not their fault for thinking the wrong thing. The main reason is that since His Majesty ascended the throne and the Empress passed away, although there are new concubines and new children in the harem, he is rarely seen lingering in the harem.
Most members of the Jiang family are born cold and heartless.
The eldest and legitimate lineage is the most similar.
I won't even like it...
The old grandmother has a headache.
Hopefully not, oh my goodness.
"That tyrant emperor back then...seemed to have had a crush on Empress Xie, who was then his daughter-in-law...not long after, the tyrant emperor died suddenly..."
The old grandmother muttered something, and Liao San's hands shook, spilling tea all over his pants.
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Listening to the Rain Tower.
Wei Tingzhong rejected all the royal relatives and stood on a high place, watching those minions walk away one by one with their heads bowed. He didn't care, but asked his subordinates, "How are things going with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"
"It seems that they are checking intelligence on the border war and verifying the enemy's situation. They are also in contact with the palace. There are no other unusual movements."
The subordinate reported seriously, but also asked: "His Majesty has already issued an order, so why wouldn't the Crown Prince go?"
Wei Tingzhong remained noncommittal. "It's inevitable that a great general will die on the battlefield. The situation is so sensitive right now that it's difficult to leave Chang'an without permission. Furthermore, battlefield intelligence is our top priority. If His Highness were to leave without permission, he wouldn't have achieved all the military success he once had."
"Whether we go or not depends on whether the situation on the border requires it."
The subordinate scratched his head and bravely said, "Doesn't it depend on...um...who?"
He looked carefully at the independent swallowtail bell tower on the left.
A small, dangling bell hangs on the second-floor windowsill.
The window was half open, and maids and officials from the Dali Temple were walking back and forth inside. Occasionally, a graceful figure could be seen flipping through bookshelves, scrolls, and files.
Seems busy.
Actually, I was busy for many days.
Don't ask him about anything.
Wei Tingzhong was silent for a moment, then sighed.
"The prince won't."
If Jiang Hui is such a person.
Then, he would not have seen Yan Siqing's subtle softness that day.
It is because beautiful young men with clear and sincere feelings are rare, and young generals who value their country and their family are even rarer.
Only then will she be soft-hearted and hesitate.
And I felt guilty for letting go so quickly in the end.
But no matter how guilty she felt, she could still do her job and was never confused.
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"A person who is never confused, watching others make mistakes again and again for her."
"She won't understand or support it, but she will still be touched."
"It's because she's calmer that she knows if she truly cares, and that's why she'll disregard her own gains and losses and make mistakes that are detrimental to herself."
"You've done this kind of thing, haven't you?"
"Master Yan."
As the person in charge sent by the White Horse Temple to assist in the salvation, Lechen talked with Yan Siqing who had finished his work. At the beginning of the tea, he said these words.
This should not come from the mouth of a monk.
Yan Siqing raised his eyes to look at him.
His eyes were obscure and sharp.
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