Chapter 92 The Emperor Arrives
Chapter 92 The Emperor Arrives
When they arrived at the outer study, the three Xiao brothers were all there. Xiao Zhurong bowed and said, "Master, he's here!"
Xiao Xia walked into the room, saluted the head of the family, and also greeted his third and fourth uncles.
Xiao Cong waved his hand and said with a smile: "Qilang, please sit down first. We are discussing the business matters."
Xiao Xia sat cross-legged on the soft couch specially prepared for him. Xiao Yu waved to his son and asked him to stand behind him. Xiao Zhurong was actually qualified to listen in on important family meetings. It can be seen that the head of the family, Xiao Cong, was preparing to focus on training him.
Xiao Cong slowly said to Xiao Xia, "We discussed for a whole day yesterday and finally reached an agreement. Three families will join our new company and account for 50% of the shares. This time, the emperor relaxed the requirements and there are a total of five places. He also specifically designated two of them for the southern families. In this way, the south belongs to the south and the north belongs to the north, at least on the surface."
Xiao Gui next to him said, "But it's not actually like that. At least the three families in Jiangdu have brought in forces from Chang'an. Other families may also have the potential. In fact, it has become a battle between the northern nobility in the name of the southern families.
But this goes against the emperor's original intention, and the emperor may not allow this, so Li Min suggested that we prepare two plans. One plan is for them to send two high-quality warriors to fight for us, and the other plan is to select two children of the Xiao family to participate in the fight. "
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "The Patriarch wants me to join the battle?"
Xiao Cong nodded, "One for you and one for Xiao Xin. As long as you are willing to fight for the Xiao family, I will never treat you unfairly!"
"I have no problem, I'm just afraid I'm not qualified."
"Li Min said you are qualified!"
Xiao Xia nodded silently. He understood what Li Min meant. Since the Yang family would not allow him to become a citizen, he could only continue to be a member of the Xiao family.
Everyone left, leaving only Xiao Xia and the head of the family, Xiao Cong, in the room.
Xiao Cong sighed: "Xiao Qilang, the situation is worrying! As far as I know, there are currently fifteen Jiangnan families competing for two places, and there are also families from Bashu, Lianghu, and Jianghuai. They are also considered to be in the Jiangnan category."
Xiao Xia smiled slightly and said, "This alternative plan will eliminate many families by cutting off the source of the problem!"
"This is a last resort. It was actually proposed by the eldest princess. She is responsible for giving advice to the emperor, but others may not agree. The crown prince, the king of Han, and the king of Qin will all oppose it, so the alternative plan may not be passed."
"Master, the Liu family seems to be very low-key. Do they have any experts?"
"That's because you haven't had any contact with them. In fact, they are not low-key. Their roots are much deeper than ours. Liu Han, the chief of Jiangdu, is the brother of the head of the family, Liu Xuan. The Liu family has a seventh-rank master named Liu Shili, who is the bodyguard of Qin Wang Yang Jun. The two great masters in Jiangnan are Zhang Jue and him. In addition, Liu Shili's brother Liu Shichong is also a sixth-rank master. He is currently the owner of Tianchu Martial Arts Hall."
"So the Liu family will be our biggest rival?"
"If it is a backup plan, the Liu family is indeed our biggest opponent. If there is no backup plan, it is hard to say. Both the Chen family in Jiangdu and the Xiao family in Jiangning will have ninth-grade masters."
"Will Jiangning's Xiao family also participate?"
Xiao Cong sighed, "Originally, the merger of the three Xiaos has been discussed for many years. This time, the Jiangning Xiao family completely betrayed and joined the King of Han. With the support of the King of Han, Xiao Hong certainly wants to get a piece of the pie."
"Actually, it's not bad to combine the two Xiaos!"
Xiao Cong nodded, "We all have this intention. After we have finalized some details, the Xiao family in Jiangdu will most likely move to Jinling County next year or the year after. Xiao Qilang, in two years, you may have to go to Jinling County to find us."
…………
Three days later, news came from the north that the emperor's fleet had arrived in Gaoyou County.
Jiangdu Governor Wei Lihu, Chief Clerk Liu Han, Sima Lu Bingtai, as well as county magistrate Wang Lan, county lieutenant Yuan Shirong and other officials all went to a place thirty miles away to welcome the emperor.
Emperor Yang Jian's fleet was huge, with hundreds of ships stretching for dozens of miles. Thousands of boatmen were pulling the boats on the shore, and 20,000 Tiger Guards were guarding both sides of the canal. Yang Jian, the founding emperor of the Sui Dynasty, was about sixty years old. The vicissitudes of life had left deep marks on his face, and his eyes were deeper, as if they contained endless wisdom.
Several of his children were sitting beside him. On the left was his eldest daughter Yang Lihua, his most beloved daughter. Sitting first on the right was Prince of Jin Yang Guang, who was about thirty-five or thirty-six years old, with a long beard under his chin, a handsome face, and a pair of slender eyes that were bright and full of love for his father. However, he was very silent and only talked when his father asked him.
Five years ago, the "Double Kings Case" broke out. General He Ruobi impeached Prince of Jin for keeping another wife in Luoyang and having an illegitimate child. King of Shu Yang Xiu, who was stationed in Luoyang at the time, tried his best to defend his brother and denied that his brother had an illegitimate child. Finally, Xiao Moke came out to testify, and Yang Guang had to admit it.
Emperor Yang Jian and Empress Dugu were furious and denounced Yang Guang's usual disguise. Both Prince of Jin Yang Guang and Prince of Shu Yang Xiu were demoted. This was the Case of the Two Princes that shocked the court and the public.
Yang Guang was demoted to King of Runan and placed under house arrest in Luoyang, while Yang Xiu was demoted to King of Ziyang and placed under house arrest in Chengdu. However, after Empress Dugu passed away last year, Yang Xiu had his title of King of Shu restored.
It was not until two months ago that Yang Guang was notified that his father asked him to accompany him on an inspection tour to Jiangdu, officially lifting his house arrest.
Only then did Yang Guang realize that he had finally made it.
But Yang Guang was still very cautious. He was afraid that Xiao Xia in Jiangdu would get into trouble, so he specially sent his eldest son Yang Zhao to Jiangdu in advance to warn Xiao Xia.
Although everyone is accustomed to talking about Prince of Jin Yang Guang, in fact Yang Guang was no longer Prince of Jin five years ago. Now he is still Prince of Runan. He has not fully restored his title, nor has he obtained any power.
Sitting second from the bottom was Crown Prince Yang Yong, who was two years older than his brother Yang Guang. He had a thin face, fair skin, and slightly swollen eyelids. He was eloquent, good at observing people's words and expressions, and especially kept a low profile in front of his father, which made his father Yang Jian very satisfied.
For example, at this time, he was the crown prince and should have sat in the first seat next to his father, but he was willing to be second and gave the first seat to his second brother, Prince of Jin, Yang Guang.
Although there was a slight discrepancy in the order of seniority, Yang Yong knew that his second brother Yang Guang was the protagonist of this trip to Jiangdu. Yang Jian also acquiesced to his humility and enthusiastically asked his second son Yang Guang about the local customs and practices along the way.
"My son, how far is it to Jiangdu?"
"Reporting to the Emperor, it is about thirty miles away. If we walk another ten miles south, we will see Jiangdu City."
Yang Jian nodded, "We will go directly to the Yangtze River later, and the fleet will be anchored on the Yangtze River!"
He turned around and smiled at Concubine Chen who was sitting behind him: "What do you think, my dear concubine?"
Concubine Chen smiled and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for fulfilling my wish!"
Concubine Chen was the sister of Chen Shubao, the last emperor of the Chen Dynasty. While anchored on the Yangtze River, she could see her homeland. It seemed that Yang Jian was indeed favoring this favorite concubine.
At this time, an eunuch came to report, "Your Majesty, officials from Jiangdu are here to welcome Your Majesty!"
Yang Jian smiled and said to Crown Prince Yang Yong: "My son, go and comfort them for me!"
Along the way, there were officials paying homage to the emperor, but Yang Jian was too lazy to deal with them and asked Crown Prince Yang Yong to handle them.
"My son obeys the order!"
Crown Prince Yang Yong stood up, bowed, and quickly got off the boat.
Yang Jian stroked his beard and smiled at his eldest daughter Yang Lihua, "You told me a few days ago that I have a grandson in Jiangdu?"
(End of this chapter)