Chapter 97 Audience with the Emperor
Chapter 97 Audience with the Emperor (Part )
Yang Jian was very surprised. "Even Chang Sun Sheng couldn't block General Chengdu's sword. Could it be that his martial arts skills are better than Chang Sun Sheng's?"
"Your Majesty, since the Seventh Grandson has not yet formed his elixir and is underage, it is difficult to make a conclusion. His swordsmanship is worse than General Changsun's, but his strength is not as good as General Changsun's. For now, the Seventh Grandson's internal strength should be between the seventh and eighth grades. When he is seventeen years old, it will definitely exceed the eighth grade. Whether he can reach the ninth grade, I dare not make a rash judgment!"
Yang Jian stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Little Qilang, why don't you thank General Yuwen for his comments on you?"
Xiao Xia quickly bowed and said, "I would like to thank General Yuwen for his high evaluation!"
Yuwen Chengdu looked at him deeply, returned the wooden sword to the eunuch, and stepped back.
Xiao Xia also returned the wooden sword to the eunuch.
Yang Jian waved to him, "Little Qilang, come sit next to me!"
Xiao Xia walked forward and sat down at his grandfather's feet.
Yang Jian stroked his head and said slowly: "I know I have wronged you, but I think this is also a test for you. When you become a pillar of the Sui Dynasty, your grandmother's spirit will agree to let you return to the clan, just like me, who returned to his original surname at the age of thirty-seven. My child, your surname is not important. What is important is that your bloodline will not change. You must spread your wings in adversity and eventually become the backbone of the Sui Dynasty."
"Grandfather's teachings, I will remember them in my heart!"
"Go! I've just recovered from my illness and I'm a little tired. I'll test you again later!"
Xiao Xia stood up and saluted, "Grandfather, take good care of yourself. I'm leaving now!"
Xiao Xia stood up and hesitated for a moment. Yang Jian saw it and said with a smile, "What else do you want to say? I'll let you say one more sentence."
"Reporting to Grandfather, the Xiao family has taken care of my grandson for five years. I want to compete on behalf of the Xiao family to repay their kindness. I beg Grandfather to agree!"
Yang Jian nodded, "I am very pleased that my grandson is willing to repay my gratitude. I have granted your permission!"
"Thank you, Grandfather Emperor. I'm leaving now!"
Xiao Xia slowly retreated, and Yang Jian turned around and smiled at his daughter Yang Lihua, "This grandson is good, I like him very much."
Yang Lihua breathed a sigh of relief, finally passing the most important hurdle.
In the cabin, Yang Guang paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, sometimes looking up to the sky and sighing, and sometimes standing in front of the window, staring at the Yangtze River in silence, appearing to be worried.
The eldest son Yang Zhao advised: "Father, my third brother is smart and well-behaved. The emperor will definitely like him, and he will not affect your restoration. The emperor has already arrived in Jiangdu, what else do you have to worry about?"
Yang Guang sighed, "You don't understand Grandfather's thoughts. Your brother's performance is related to whether Father can be partially restored to the throne or completely restored to the throne. If Grandfather thinks your third brother is useless, then the mistake I made back then is unforgivable. If your third brother performs well and is useful to the country, then Grandfather can give Grandmother an explanation, and my mistake back then can be forgiven."
"The child thinks his father is overly worried."
Yang Guang shook his head, "You are still young and don't understand the thoughts of the elderly."
At this time, hurried footsteps were heard outside. Yang Guang turned around and saw the eldest princess's trusted eunuch Wu Sizhong appear at the door. His heart suddenly rose to his throat.
"How about meeting?"
Wu Sizhong smiled slightly and said, "The emperor is very satisfied. Princess, please have a good night's sleep. There will be good news in the evening!"
"Ah!" Yang Guang covered his face and cried with joy. He finally passed this level.
At this time, Crown Prince Yang Yong also received the news that his father had received the emperor's grandson Xiao Xia. This news really depressed him, as it meant that he had failed this year.
Zhang Yunqiu, the staff member, advised in a low voice: "Your Highness, the Prince of Jin has only returned to the throne. He has no resources left. Those who were loyal to him in the past have betrayed him or stayed away from him. He can no longer compete with the Crown Prince for the throne." Crown Prince Yang Yong stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back, staring out of the window. After a while, he slowly said: "This son of Xiao is much stronger than his two brothers. A fake jade pendant tricked me severely, and a fake letter sent the King of Han to face the wall for a year. I am afraid that he will become the right-hand man of the King of Jin, and the King of Jin will slowly rise."
Zhang Yunqiu smiled slightly and said, "Don't worry, Your Highness. He won't be the right-hand man of the Prince of Jin. As long as I use a little trick, he may not even be able to enter the Prince of Jin's mansion."
Crown Prince Yang Yong's eyes lit up, and he turned around and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Your Highness, even an honest judge cannot judge family affairs. There is more than one Yang Zhao in the Prince of Jin's mansion."
Yang Yong nodded, "You're right!"
After a pause, Yang Guang said angrily, "And there is this idiot Wei Lihu, who has ruined my plans twice. Transfer him away. He is not qualified to stay in such an important place as Jiangdu."
That night, the emperor issued an order to restore Yang Guang to the throne.
"Prince Yang Guang has been managing Jiangdu for ten years, promoting reconciliation between the north and the south, and has made great contributions to the country. Although there are some minor flaws, the flaws do not outweigh the merits. Moreover, he has been facing the wall for five years and has long since changed his ways. I hereby decree to restore his title of King of Jin, and confer him the title of Minister of the Ministry of Justice, ordering him to be in charge of criminal law and assist the Crown Prince in governing the country. This is my decree!"
The next day, Yang Jian issued another decree, upgrading Jiangdu County to Jiangdu Prefecture. At the suggestion of the Crown Prince, Pei Yun, Shaoqing of Taichang, was appointed as the prefect of Jiangdu Prefecture and concurrently the Jianghuai Transport Commissioner.
Wei Lihu, the former governor of Jiangdu, was demoted to the magistrate of Yongjia County because of his poor handling of the assassination case at the beginning of the year. Yuan Shirong was promoted from Jiangdu County Lieutenant to Jiangdu County Magistrate, and the former county magistrate Wang Lan was promoted to the governor of Danyang County.
Xiao Yu took over as the lieutenant of Jiangdu County. This was recommended by the eldest princess and approved by the emperor. Xiao Yu had previously served as the chief clerk of Yanling County, but was dismissed due to his involvement in the case of Prince of Jin.
The head of the family, Xiao Cong, also restored his title of Duke of Ju.
Xiao Cong's decree included restoring the titles of his brothers Xiao Yu and Xiao Gui, and at the end he added that Xiao Xia was conferred the title of Duke of Hailing County.
Although Emperor Yang Jian liked Xiao Xia very much and privately acknowledged this grandson, he had to give face to his deceased wife and could not acknowledge him publicly, nor could he publicly confer the title of king on him alone.
Yang Jian named him under the name of the Xiao family and made him a county duke.
This can be considered a balance point. According to the Sui system, the lowest title given to a royal family member after birth is a county duke, and then they are promoted according to their merits. For example, the descendants of Yang Jian's brothers were mostly county dukes.
At this time, Xiao Lin, the head of the Jinling Xiao family, led dozens of clansmen to Jiangdu.
The Xiao family had three happy events coming to them, and Xiao Cong specially arranged a banquet in his house to welcome Xiao Lin.
The banquets of wealthy families in the Sui Dynasty were not round table style. Instead, each person had an independent small table and practiced the separate dining system. The only difference was that each person's position was particular.
There were seven small tables in the lobby, and Xiao Cong and his wife Shen sat in the middle.
There are three seats on each side. On the left is Xiao Lin, the head of the Jinling Xiao family, below is Xiao Yu, and below that is Yang Zhao. Although Yang Zhao is the eldest son of Prince Jin, he is the nephew of Xiao Cong and a younger generation, so he sits in the third seat.
Opposite them were four distinguished guests, Mr. and Mrs. Li Min and Mr. and Mrs. Chai Shao.
This is a characteristic of the Sui Dynasty, and it can also be said to be a characteristic of the Northern Wei and Northern Zhou dynasties, where women had a very high status.
But a woman's status is determined by her family. So Emperor Yang Jian was henpecked, Li Min was henpecked, Chai Shao was henpecked, and Yang Zhao was also henpecked. The status of their wives was given by their natal families.
In the lobby, Xiao Lin said with a smile, "This time Xiao Hong has chosen the wrong person. He was eagerly waiting to be appointed as the governor of Danyang County, but in the end he got nothing. Yesterday he returned the genealogy of the Qi and Liang dynasties to me and apologized to me, saying that he was coerced by the King of Han and had no choice. Brother, do you think this is credible?"
Xiao Cong said calmly: "We are all members of the Xiao family, there is no need to turn against each other, just maintain the relationship on the surface! The three Xiao martial arts competition held every two years will continue."
(End of this chapter)