The tenth year of Tianbao, December.
The goose-feather heavy snow fell lightly, and the whole world was dyed snow-white. The snow on the ground was already very thick. The strong wind blew and the snowflakes flew randomly, making the whole world become chaotic.
Liyang has been covered by heavy snow, and the entire city is shrouded in such chaotic snowflakes.
Yuan Wenyao, wrapped in a thick felt fur, stood inside the door, looking at the heavy snow outside.
Snowflakes kept beating on his body, Yuan Wenyao was trembling all over, his teeth kept clashing, and the whole house was rattling due to the strong wind.
Yuan Wenyao couldn't help but shrink down. Even though he was wearing thick clothes, the biting cold air penetrated everywhere on his body. He trembled and turned around.
Behind him were Shi Yao and Dugu Jie.
Yuan Wenyao forced out an awkward smile, "Shi Gong, the fire in this room has been blown out, why don't we close the door first and then discuss important matters?"
Shi Yao was unmoved. At this moment, he just kept a straight face and grabbed the hilt of the sword at his waist with one hand. "Old Master Yuan, it was you who kept saying that you wanted to enjoy the snow. You also said that this was the new king's enthronement.
The auspicious snowfall is a great blessing, it can be a blessing, so don’t worry about it.”
"Is that what you said?"
Yuan Wenyao's lips trembled for a moment, "I said that."
"Then Mr. Yuan, let's continue to appreciate this auspicious snow!"
“What a beautiful snow scene!”
Yuan Wenyao slowly looked at Dugujie, but Dugujie didn't even look at him.
Yuan Wenyao slowly looked forward, enduring the torture.
Heavy snow kept flying towards his face. Yuan Wenyao raised his hands to cover his face. Thinking of the many experiences he had experienced after coming to Liyang, he couldn't help it anymore and started sobbing.
Trembling and trembling, the crying pear blossoms bring rain.
Shi Yao looked at the dignified eunuch standing at the door crying, with contempt in his eyes.
He then stepped forward, pulled Yuan Wenyao into the house, and then closed the door. When the door was closed, the scary sound of wind and snow was much quieter. Although it was still beating on the doors and windows, the room was not warm, but it was blocked.
The wind and snow made me feel better.
"Dugu Jun, hurry up and light a fire, don't get frostbite from the prefect."
Shi Yao ordered, and Dugujie did not refuse.
Shi Yao looked at Yuan Wenyao in surprise, "Why is Mr. Yuan still crying? Could it be that the snow scene is too beautiful?"
Yuan Wenyao looked up at him. At this moment, he no longer had the solemnity of before. He cried and said: "I have never offended Mr. Shi. Why did Mr. Shi bully me like this?"
"The government affairs in the county are all decided by Duke Shi. If you want to relieve the winter disaster, you can just give the order yourself. Why do you need to ask me, and why do you need to bully me like this?!"
Hearing Yuan Wenyao's words, Shi Yao frowned and said, "Mr. Yuan! Naturally, the eunuch is in charge of major matters in this county. I have read books and passed the scholar examination. I know the legal system of Daqi. This
All matters within the county require orders from the prefect, and I handle matters according to the system."
When Yuan Wenyao heard what he said, she cried even harder.
Shi Yao's face softened a little, and he said: "Old Master Yuan, I just want you to know. The snow scenes, beautiful scenery, and auspicious snow that you often mentioned are a fatal natural disaster for the common people. You are now
Wearing thick clothes and standing inside the gate is unbearable. The people in the city do not have such sturdy houses, no firewood for the winter in their houses, and they do not have clothes like yours. How do you think they can survive?"
"The sage said that we should have benevolent government without caring about the life and death of the people. What kind of benevolent government is this?"
Yuan Wenyao paused, "I understand. I will give the order right now."
Shi Yao gave him the order and then quickly walked out of the house. Dugujie was about to leave with Shi Yao, but was pulled by Yuan Wenyao.
Yuan Wenyao looked at him eagerly, pondered for a moment, and then said: "Dugu Jun, in fact, my ancestor is also a Chinese, after Xianbei went bald."
Dugujie said "Oh", although he didn't say it clearly, he didn't hide the disgust in his eyes at all. He quickly took out his hand, turned around and left the place.
After they all left, a few slaves dared to step forward.
The master and servants hugged him and cried again.
Yuan Wenyao said: "Who would have thought that there would be such rebels in Sizhou. This place is not far from Yecheng, but I was held hostage by the thieves. I couldn't do anything by myself, and I had to be humiliated like this.
What to do about it!!”
Several slaves were also wiping their tears at this moment.
"The master of the house has been humiliated, and we should have died, but the traitors are so powerful that we really don't want to leave you alone."
Several people cried together again.
Yuan Wenyao sobbed, "Is there any other way for me to escape?"
A servant said: "Master, it's winter now. Although Yecheng is close, we won't have much contact with them. As long as we can wait until the spring of next year and send someone from the court or the state to inform them about the spring planting, the master can communicate with them."
If you inform us of the situation here, these rebels will be captured without a fight!"
"Okay, okay, this is the only thing we can do now."
Shi Yao trudged forward in the face of the wind and snow that filled the sky. The heavy snow severely damaged his vision, and he could hardly see what was ahead. The snow on the ground was extremely thick, and each step was a big step.
It seemed that Liyang had not seen such heavy snow for many years. Shi Yao groped his way to the gate of the county government office with difficulty. Surrounded by county officials, he finally arrived at the residence of the county magistrate.
Shi Yao walked into the house. There was a fire burning in the house and it was much warmer than outside.
Liu Taozi, Tian Zili, Yao Xiong, Kou Liu, Chu Jiande and others were sitting together, chatting about something.
Shi Yao walked in and sat next to them naturally. He raised his head and said fiercely: "That guy still dares to pretend to be so arrogant. Tell me what auspicious snow is, don't worry about it."
"I asked him to stand at the door for half an hour, letting him appreciate the snow."
"He cried like a child. Is a person like this worthy of being a prefect??"
Tian Zili was stunned for a moment, "Shi Gong, although Yuan Wenyao is tall, he is not a strong man. You must be more careful when doing things and don't kill him."
"If you kill me, kill me!"
"These thieves are just wasting their salary while they are alive. It would be better if they died!"
After hearing Shi Yao's words, several minions looked at each other.
Since the arrival of Yuan Wenyao, Shi Yao seems to have changed. Where is the shadow of the weak scholar in the past? He is always willing to kill people, which is almost the same as Brother Taozi!
Liu Taozi asked: "How is the disaster situation?"
"Fortunately, it's not as serious as we expected. That means we were prepared in advance, otherwise we really don't know how many people would have been killed or injured."
"It's just that a lot of livestock in the village have been killed by the freeze. I've sent people to register them. I'm going to report to the temple and ask them to fill in the vacancies when the heavy snow passes."
The door was pushed open again, and the wind and snow suddenly rushed in. Dugujie quickly closed the door, shook the snow off his body, breathed into his hands, and then sat among the people.
He raised his head and looked at Liu Taozi, "What you said is indeed true. This guy is very evil. Just when I was about to go out, he grabbed me and said that he was also from Xianbei. He just wanted to win over me."
He frowned, "If the state or temple sends someone here, this guy will definitely talk nonsense."
A hint of ferocity flashed in his eyes, "Mr. Liu, why don't we kill him and just say he froze to death."
Chu Jiande chuckled, "That can't be done. His father is Yang Xiang's uncle. If we kill him, how can Xiang Yang spare us?"
Hearing these words, Tian Zili was stunned for a moment and asked: "Uncle?"
He looked at Dugujie again, "He said he was from Xianbei??"
“Then isn’t Prime Minister Yang also from Xianbei??”
Shi Yao opened his mouth and said: "Their ancestors are from Xianbei, but now, they don't even know how to speak a word of Xianbei."
Kou Liu slowly lowered his head.
Several people were still discussing this matter, but Liu Taozi interrupted them, "Okay. Don't think about these things anymore, let's help the people affected by the disaster first."
"As for Yuan Wenyao, don't pay attention to it."
"After the spring comes, the temple will probably have no time to pay attention to local affairs."
Several people quickly stood up and saluted Liu Taozi.
"only!!"
Everyone put on thick clothes and left separately, but Shi Yao did not leave.
After everyone left, he asked: "Mr. Liu, is Prime Minister Yang going to be defeated?"
"Why do you say that?"
"You'll know just by looking at Yuan Wenyao."
"This has nothing to do with us, just do your part."
"only."
Yecheng, Xiangfu.
Yang Min sat in the upper position, and several important ministers sat on his left and right respectively.
"Your Majesty, please accept me as the King of Kaifeng."
"And I feel that the problem of excessive titles and official positions in the past has been very serious. I am willing to cut off my royal title and the privilege of opening a government to show the people of the world that the matter of abolishing redundant officials will be done for me.
First!"
Yang Min has a big belly and is very domineering.
Among the people sitting in front of him were Yan Zixian, Zhu Huntianhe, Song Qindao, Zheng Zimo, Gao Guiyan, Cui Jishu and others.
After hearing Yang Min's words, everyone looked at each other with different expressions.
Zheng Zimo stood up, saluted Yang Min, and then said: "Mr. Yang, His Majesty just awarded us a title, and now you are about to take it back. Isn't this inappropriate? I'm afraid it will damage His Majesty's power."
"Oh, we are discussing important matters of the country now, please don't say too much, Mr. Zheng!"
Yang Min interrupted the other party directly, looking down upon him. Song Qindao couldn't help but get up when he saw Zheng Zimo being scolded, "Mr. Yang summoned us to discuss important matters, but he didn't allow us to ask, so why did he call us here?"
Woolen cloth?"
Seeing that something was wrong, Yan Zixian also stood up and said, "Don't be angry, you two. Prime Minister Yang is not looking down on you. What Prime Minister Yang means is that there are other things to discuss at the moment. We will discuss it later. We will discuss it later."
.”
Zheng Zimo and Song Qindao looked at each other and then sat down unhappily.
Yan Zixian cleared his throat, "The most important thing at the moment is not the title or official position, but those two people."
"The momentum of those two people is becoming more and more powerful. One of them is summoning guests to and from the house. The number of guests who come to his home to see him every day has exceeded thirty or forty. Now there are more and more people gathering."
"The other one acted more and more unscrupulously, openly killing people in Yecheng."
"Do you have any good ideas?"
Everyone slowly lowered their heads and began to ponder.
Cui Jishu looked at everyone calmly, and when he saw their expressions of embarrassment, he stood up and looked at Yang Min, "Mr. Yang, I have been suffering from many physical illnesses recently. I called a doctor and said that I was terminally ill. I'm afraid I can't
After a while, I was prescribed some powerful medicine, saying that this medicine is very strong and will definitely be effective if taken."
"Do you think I should take this strong medicine?"
Everyone slowly looked at him and then at Yang Min.
Yang Min looked directly at the other party, "Little medicine can no longer cure it. If it is delayed, even strong medicine will not be able to cure it."
"Therefore, before you die of illness, it is better to take some strong medicine. Although the strong medicine is strong, it may save your life."
Cui Jishu shook his head, "I heard another doctor say that the more serious the disease, the more careful you have to be. Before giving strong medicine, you need to condition your body first so that the person can withstand the strong medicine first, and then treat the root cause.
, Otherwise, it’s not saving lives, it’s killing people.”
Yang Min and Cui Jishu looked at each other for a moment, and the atmosphere was very depressing.
Yang Min spoke slowly and said: "Since your health is ailing, you can no longer handle important matters. You can return home to recuperate first."
Cui Jishu was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly.
"Okay, then I'll go back."
Cui Jishu turned around, shook his head and left slowly. Yang Min waited until he left and then said to the people around him: "Before his death, the late emperor gave me an edict to remove Cui Jishu from his official position! I will send someone to his house tomorrow to read out the edict!"
"only"
Several people present immediately became much more honest.
Looking at the people sitting in silence, Yang Min said: "You don't need to pay too much attention to these two people."
"I'm going to let them out as governors and let them govern the place to achieve results."
Yan Zixian frowned, "These two people belong to the clan. Although Prime Minister Yang is the prime minister, your Majesty also respects and loves these two people. Is this possible?"
Yang Min looked at Song Qindao and Zheng Zimo, "I'll have to trouble you two to persuade His Majesty and the Queen Mother about this matter."
"only!!"
Several people got up and left.
Yan Zixian stayed, and after everyone left, he stepped forward and said, "Mr. Yang. This is the detailed memorial just sent by Cui Zhan. It describes the things in Liyang in great detail. There is no more information."
Omission."
Yang Min picked up the paperwork. He looked a little tired, "We will discuss local matters later, but we should first resolve the major matters in the temple."
He gave a few more instructions, and Yan Zixian left.
After everyone left, Yang Min's stalwart body immediately deflated. He bent over, changed to a more comfortable position, and continued to sit in his original position.
He sat for a moment and then got up, ready to return to the inner room to rest. After hesitating for a moment, he picked up the letter he had put aside.
Yang Min returned to the inner room. Because of the trauma on his back, he could only lie on his side. He opened the table and read it carefully.
When he finished reading the memorial in his hand, he seemed completely unable to sleep. He sat up suddenly, came to the case, asked someone to bring him pen and ink, and started writing immediately.
"Someone is coming!"
"Send this order to Liyang!!"
Song Qindao and Zheng Zimo walked to the palace.
Song Qindao served as the attendant, and Zheng Zimo served as the regular attendant. These two official positions allowed him to accompany the emperor and enter and exit the palace.
Song Qindao looked at Zheng Zimo who was standing aside, "Master Zheng, Yang Xiang has always looked down upon us. He only thinks that we can only get close to the emperor by flattery. This time, we must achieve great things, and let him see that all the ministers nearby are not necessarily sycophants!"
"
Zheng Zimo's eyes were full of worry, "That's true, but His Majesty is a kind man now. It's not easy for him to cooperate with us to deal with the two kings."
Song Qindao nodded, "That's the truth, but the Queen Mother is still easy to talk to here. I think she will definitely be willing to help!"
The two of them each moved towards their own goals.
Song Qindao entered the palace and immediately bribed a soldier to report secretly for him. After doing this, he finally met the Queen Mother, Li Zu'e.
The Queen Mother was not very old, with an upright, beautiful appearance and full of nobility. She was sitting in the upper position, followed by several female officials. She was holding a string of Buddhist beads in her hand, her eyes were clear, and her face was sad.
Song Qindao hurriedly bowed to see him.
Li Zu'e said softly: "No need to be polite. I heard that Duke Song is anxious to see me, but what happened to my child?"
Song Qindao frowned, "I usually advise your Majesty, but after your Majesty ascended the throne, he treated me with contempt."
He suddenly looked around, then lowered his head and said nothing.
Li Zu'e ordered: "Everyone, please go out. No one is allowed to come in without my order."
Many palace maids hurriedly walked out, and only Li Zu'e and Song Qindao were left here. Li Zu'e then said: "Song Gong, my child has been kind-hearted since he was a child, and he will not do anything to despise his elders. You..."
Song Qindao's face was very solemn, "Queen Mother, why do you want to live in the side hall and don't dare to stay in the main hall?"
Li Zu'e was stunned, "I"
"The two kings are currently in power and have great power. Your Majesty is young and is restrained by them. The Empress Dowager prefers her son but doesn't like her grandson very much. You turn a blind eye to these. Aren't you afraid that the two kings will be detrimental to your Majesty?"
At this moment, Li Zu'e's face was full of panic, "His Majesty has ascended the throne and is the supreme king in the world. Who dares to do anything against him?"
"Without power, how can we talk about being supreme? Doesn't the Queen Mother not know what happened to me?"
Looking at the frightened Queen Mother, Song Qindao said: "At present, Yang Xiang is assisting Your Majesty to plot against the two kings, but he is afraid that Your Majesty will not obey. We hope that the Queen Mother can help us and advise Your Majesty, and we intend to transfer the two kings."
Leave Yecheng and send him to other places to release his great power. The great affairs of the world belong to your Majesty, and the affairs of the harem belong to the Queen Mother!"
Song Qindao bowed and paid homage again, "I hope the Queen Mother will be kind to me!"
Li Zu'e's face was pale. She hesitated for a long time, "Can this thing be done?"
"If we have the help of the Queen Mother, we will definitely be able to do it."
"good"
"Your Majesty, this matter is confidential. Before taking action, I hope your Majesty will not tell anyone!"
"I see."
"Don't worry."
Song Qindao successfully completed his mission. He finally breathed a sigh of relief and gave some instructions before leaving in a hurry.
Li Zu'e just froze in place. Thinking of this incident, the more she thought about it, the more frightened she became. She held the beads in her hand tightly, and her forehead was covered with sweat.
"Someone is coming!"
She shouted, and soon, several female officials came to her side, bowed their heads and saluted, "Queen Mother."
"Prepare the bicycle frame for me, I'm going to worship the Buddha."
Hearing her words, several female officials were shocked, "Your Majesty! It's freezing cold right now, how can you go out to worship the Buddha?"
"What do you know! This is for a big event! Get ready quickly!"
"Queen Mother, the wind and snow outside are really too heavy."
Chapter completed!