Chapter 177 Return to Chang'an
Chapter 177 Return to Chang'an
In the past two months, the power of Prince of Jin Yang Guang was further restored, and the ministers and local officials who were loyal to him at the beginning expressed their support for him, such as Yu Shiji, Zhang Heng, Pei Ju, Yuwen Kai and others.
But the most important ones were Prince Ande Yang Xiong and Prime Minister Yang Su. Under the instruction of Emperor Yang Jian, they began to support Prince Jin. Not only did a large number of officials join them, but Yang Guang also recruited more than a dozen staff advisers and more than thirty warriors with high martial arts skills. In addition, his guards also reached a thousand people.
Especially King Yang Xiu of Shu, he wrote to the emperor, saying that his health was not good and he could not share his father's worries, and begged to transfer the resources and power of his Shu Palace to the Jin Palace.
Emperor Yang Jian agreed, and the battle for the throne among five kings became one among four kings. King of Jin Yang Guang was not only in charge of criminal law, but also of the Ministry of Works and the three supervisors of craftsmanship, military equipment, and water conservancy. His power was expanded again.
It has gradually recovered to 80% of what it was five years ago. Five years ago, he still controlled the Ministry of Revenue, that is, the financial power, but now the Ministry of Revenue is in the hands of the Supreme Lord, and the Prince will never give it to him again.
After Jin Prince Yang Guang's power expanded, he was busy every day. One day he received news from his eldest son Yang Zhao that his third son Xiao Xia had returned to Chang'an from Ziyang County. Yang Guang was overjoyed and quickly ordered his eldest son Yang Zhao to bring Xiao Xia to see him.
Although Xiao Xia is also his son, there is still an insurmountable gap between them. For example, the eldest son Yang Zhao and the second son Yang Ling can come directly to the Prince Jin's Mansion to see their father, but Xiao Xia cannot. He still has to inform his eldest brother Yang Zhao before he can see his father.
There are many reasons for this rift between father and son, such as their emotional indifference since childhood and their mother Xiao Chunyu, but the real reason is that Xiao Xia has no official status.
He was only a grandson accepted by the emperor within the family and had not officially entered the royal family. His name was not on the royal genealogy of the Zongzheng Temple. In the legal sense, he was not Yang Guang's son. Even during the clan sacrifice, he could only watch the sacrifice as a younger brother from the outer house.
This is a bit embarrassing, but it is an undeniable fact.
In the official room, Xiao Xia knelt down and bowed to his father. Yang Guang was quite moved and smiled and said, "Sanlang, no need to be polite. Sit down!"
Xiao Xia went to Bashu in late May. Now it is mid-August. After nearly three months of travel, Xiao Xia's skin has become much darker, he has lost a lot of weight, and looks more robust.
Yang Guang had already seen the official report submitted by Wei Xuan to the court. The first meritorious official in the report was his son Xiao Xia. The report described his military exploits in detail, which really made Yang Guang proud. It was obvious that among his father's grandchildren, only his son could lead troops to war and win three battles in a row.
Yang Guang smiled slightly and said, "It was hard on this trip to Bashu."
Xiao Xia asked, "Excuse me, father, did Grandfather receive the batch of gold and silver that I asked General Wei Xuan to pass on to Grandfather?"
Yang Guang nodded, "Your royal grandfather received it, and he gave it all to me. In addition, the royal grandfather rewarded you with one thousand taels of gold. Now that you have grown up, I will not keep it for you, and give it all to you!"
"Thank you father!"
Yang Guang smiled and said, "Your post as the Commandant of Ziyang County is just a temporary position. The Ministry of War has already exempted you from it. You can go back to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel to complete the formalities and sign a few signatures. However, your guerrilla general's official title is still there. Your grandfather is going to confer you the title of Tiger Guard General. I don't know if it is a real position, but I guess not. Your eldest brother and second brother are both Tiger Guard Generals. Don't take this title to heart. In addition, the royal grandfather also rewarded you with a piece of land in Huxian County. You can go and have a look when you have time."
Xiao Xia didn't care much about this Tiger Guard General. He went to Ziyang County to complete a mission, not to really make merit and get a promotion.
"Does my son want to go and express his gratitude to the Emperor?" Xiao Xia asked again.
"Not for now! Just continue to study hard at the Imperial Academy and don't worry about other things."
Xiao Xia nodded and said, "I have something I want to ask for your help, father!"
Yang Guang said cheerfully, "What's the matter?"
"I have twenty men under my command. They don't want to return to the army and want to follow me. I have no way to place them. Can they be placed in my father's guard? I mean, they should retain their positions."
"What is the highest military rank among them?"
"Two captains, the rest are brigade commanders."
The military rank is not high, so they can be arranged. Yang Guang nodded and said, "Okay, I'll talk to Dou Yan and transfer them to the imperial guards. They will retain their military rank and be arranged as my guards."
"Thank you, father. I'm leaving now!" Yang Guang instructed again, "Unless Lingyan Pavilion has other plans, you should just study hard and practice calligraphy. If you have time, read more military books."
Xiao Xia bowed and said, "I've remembered. If there's anything important that Father needs my help with, just let me know!"
Yang Guang laughed and said, "I'm glad you have this intention. Go ahead!"
After coming out of Prince Jin's Mansion, he met his eldest brother Yang Zhao who was waiting outside. Yang Zhao found a teahouse and treated his brother to ice tea. It was already the beginning of summer, but the weather was still very hot and humid. Yang Zhao was obese and especially afraid of heat, so he almost had to rely on ice to survive in the summer.
"This is authentic Wujun iced sour plum soup, my favorite in summer, you can try it."
Xiao Xia took a big sip of iced sour plum soup, and the heat instantly disappeared. He praised, "Not bad, father hasn't had any trouble in the past few months, right?"
Yang Zhao glanced around and whispered, "It feels like Grandfather is deliberately supporting Father to compete with the Crown Prince. Father's power has increased greatly in the past few months. The Ministry of Works has also been given to Father, and even Prime Minister Yang Su has begun to support Father again."
Xiao Xia sighed in his heart, these are all empty talk, as long as the prince ascends the throne, no matter how much support he gets, it will be like the moon in the water and the flower in the mirror, the key is to have the support of the army.
Historically, Emperor Yang Jian died the next year. Unless the fate of the emperor was also changed, they only had one year.
Xiao Xia suddenly had an indescribable sense of crisis. He had to consider a way out, not only for himself but also for his family.
Yang Zhao sensed that his brother was worried, so he took out an envelope and handed it to him, "Here is your 1,000 taels of gold. It's at Tianfu Counter, go get it yourself!"
Xiao Xia nodded, "Thank you, brother!"
Yang Zhao smiled again and said, "Give me your twenty men later and I will arrange them for you. Ask them to come to my house in the afternoon. I happen to be at home in the afternoon, so I will take them directly to Prince Jin's house. I will take care of these matters."
"What are you doing now, brother?"
"I am now doing odd jobs. Of course, the position sounds good, I am the head of the internal affairs of the Prince of Jin's Palace. Fortunately, the 15,000 strings of money allocated to the Prince of Jin's Palace by the court every month is also under my management. In the past, I only had 10,000 strings of money every month, but now I get the same as the crown prince."
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "You are my father's most trusted person, so of course the financial power belongs to you. By the way, where is my land? How much is it?"
"It's 1,500 acres, it's a manor, I'll give you the deed in a couple of days. Actually I haven't been there either, so I can't describe it to you."
"That's not urgent. I thought it was my county lord's permanent farmland!"
Yang Zhao knocked on the table, a little annoyed, and said, "There is a problem here. You should have permanent land, a title salary, a salary for a minor official, and the salary of the commander of Ziyang Prefecture. It's already August, and you haven't received any of it. I suspect someone has withheld it, and it's probably related to the crown prince. I was planning to tell my grandfather about this, but my father wouldn't let me cause trouble for him. I'll tell Prime Minister Yang in a couple of days and ask him to check what's stuck."
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "I plan to open a business with my aunt. I will give my eldest brother 20% of the share?"
Yang Zhao shook his head quickly, "Don't give it to me. The Emperor's grandfather strictly forbids his grandsons from doing business. You are special, so he may not care about you. If the Crown Prince finds out about my business and sues me, I will be in big trouble. That's why I can't take the restaurant share!
"Can the emperor's granddaughter do business?" Xiao Xia asked with a smile.
"You said Feiyan and the others, they don't care, but each family will not give their property to their daughters. At most, they will give a dowry when they get married."
Xiao Xia nodded, and he no longer forced his elder brother, "Okay! If you need money, you can always come to me."
(End of this chapter)