Chapter 268 Conditions of King Jin

Chapter 268 Conditions of King Jin

Chapter 268 Conditions of King Jin
Xiao Xia received a pigeon message from the court, and learned that the emperor decided to appoint Yang Da as the governor of Luoyang. It happened that Yang Da was recuperating in Luoyang. The governor would only be in charge of the army and not government affairs. The government affairs were the responsibility of Li Yuan, the governor of Henan County.

Xiao Xia handed over the military power to Yang Da, and asked Pei Wen'an to temporarily serve as the magistrate of Luoyang, waiting for the official appointment from the court.

Xiao Xia led a thousand cavalrymen and escorted a hundred carts loaded with 350,000 strings of wealth back to Chang'an.

That evening, the team passed Tongguan. Seeing that it was getting dark, Xiao Xia ordered the entire army to camp and rest. There happened to be a military camp in Tongguan, so they rested overnight in the camp and the war horses were well fed.

At night, Xiao Xia was patrolling the military camp when a soldier came to report, "General, the Prince of Henan is here!"

Xiao Xia was startled. Why did his elder brother come? He quickly said, "Please invite him to my tent!"

Xiao Xia returned to his tent, and Yang Zhao also hurried over.

Xiao Xia asked his eldest brother to come into the big tent to rest. Seeing that he was very tired, he asked his personal soldiers to bring him a large bowl of cold tea.

Yang Zhao drank the herbal tea in one breath, and the heat gradually dissipated.

"I have two things to tell you. First, my father is very grateful to you. He admits that it was his fault that you two had such an unpleasant argument last time. He fell into the trap set by the prince to sow discord between them."

Xiao Xia said calmly: "Thank you for his understanding!"

Seeing Xiao Xia's cold attitude and not showing any excitement of being forgiven by his father, Yang Zhao sighed inwardly, thinking that the gap between them was too deep.

Helplessly, he had to get down to business. He whispered again, "Father wants to know, have you found any evidence about Han Wang Yang Liang?"

Xiao Xia nodded, "I found it. There is also evidence that Wang Qiu, the Dali Temple official, betrayed his men."

Yang Zhao was overjoyed. He was about to speak, but hesitated and asked, "How do you plan to deal with it?"

Xiao Xia smiled slightly and said, "Does father want it?"

Yang Zhao rolled his eyes, "I'm so tired that I ran here like a dog, what do you think?"

Xiao Xia took out the ivory box from the luggage and handed it to Yang Zhao. "There are three letters in total. Wang Qiu's evidence is mentioned in the content of the letter. You can give it to my father! I will not be responsible for this matter."

Yang Zhao opened the box and took a look. He said excitedly, "With evidence like this, it's worth it for me to die of exhaustion!"

Yang Zhao asked again: "Father will definitely ask what your attitude is. Give me a suggestion!"

Xiao Xia said slowly: "Old people always favor their youngest sons. Unless they commit treason or rebel to seize the throne, nothing else matters. If I am not mistaken, the Emperor's grandfather must have asked the King of Han to deal with Huang Yaokuan's family!"

Yang Zhao gave a thumbs up, "You guessed it right!"

Xiao Xia sneered, "Grandfather Huang meant that he should treat Huang's wife and children well, to show that he would rather be punished to protect his subordinates' families and save his own reputation.

But the King of Han will definitely punish Huang Yaokuan's family even more severely to show that this matter has nothing to do with him. This is his nature, selfish, greedy, and ruthless. "

"You are right, the prince is actually the same."

"The prince is at least not as bad as him."

After a pause, Xiao Xia continued, "What I mean is that this matter cannot bring down the King of Han!"

Yang Zhao nodded. "I understand what you mean. I will tell my father. You can have a rest. I am leaving first. My father is still waiting for your news."

Xiao Xia took out a box and handed it to him, "This is for Auntie!"

Yang Zhao opened it and found seven top-quality gemstones inside, just enough to make a necklace.

"You are so thoughtful, mother will be very happy!"

Yang Zhao was really touched. He took the box and left in a hurry.

The summer of June has entered its sweltering stage. The weather seems to be on fire. Walking on the street is so hot that one almost melts. It is hard to see pedestrians on the street. Only the cargo transporters and coachmen are still working under the scorching sun, sweating profusely.

After mid-June every year, wealthy families would buy ice and put it in the walls to cool down. Ice in summer and charcoal in winter have always been indispensable necessities in Chang'an.

When summer comes, all the major restaurants are temporarily converted into teahouses in the morning and afternoon. The restaurants have ice cubes on the walls during the day, and it would be a pity not to use them. After being converted into temporary teahouses, they are filled with customers who come to drink tea, cool off and eat snacks every day.

At this time, restaurants are of course selling herbal tea and various cooling drinks. All major restaurants are bustling with people during the day, and only noon is the quietest time.

The third floor of the Wencui Restaurant in Pingkangfang was booked once again. In a very elegant room, sat Yang Guang, the Prince of Jin, and Yang Liang, the Prince of Han. Yang Liang said impatiently, "I'm not used to staying in places other than the Wenshan Restaurant for a long time. If you have anything to say, just tell me!"

Yang Guang placed the three letters on the table and said with a smile: "Fifth brother, take a look at these three letters first!" Yang Liang picked up the three letters and was stunned for a moment. They were actually three letters he wrote to Huang Yaokuan. The letters in his hand were of course just copies, but that was not important. What was important was that the originals must be in the hands of his second brother Yang Guang.

Yang Liang cursed Huang Yaokuan in his heart. He had warned him many times to burn the letters, and Huang Yaokuan had repeatedly assured him that the letters had been burned. It turned out that he had not burned them at all. Yang Liang knew too well the importance of these three letters. Once they fell into the hands of his father or were made public in the court, he would be in great trouble.

Thinking of the terrible thing, his body couldn't help but tremble a little. Yang Guang narrowed his eyes and he could see the other person's body language clearly.

"Brother, just tell me straight! What do you want?"

Instead of telling the emperor, his second brother came to him, obviously wanting to use them to threaten him. Yang Liang immediately guessed his second brother's intention.

Yang Guang smiled and said, "Since Fifth Brother has guessed it, I won't be hypocritical and will just tell you directly. Give me the Ministry of Revenue and I will give you all three letters."

Yang Liang was not very interested in the Ministry of Revenue. He smiled bitterly and said, "I don't want the Ministry of Revenue. I can give it to you, but it's not up to you or me to decide. Father must agree to it."

"Go to the Emperor and tell him that you have no interest in the Ministry of Revenue and that you don't have the ability to manage it. You want to hand it over to me. As long as you make it clear, the Emperor will definitely give it to me."

"What if the emperor doesn't agree?" Yang Liang asked again.

"If the emperor does not agree, I will appoint the Minister of Revenue."

Yang Liang nodded, "Okay! I'll give it a try."

Yang Liang knew very well that if he didn't bleed this time, he would never get the three letters back.

At night, Yang Guang was summoned to the palace. He knelt down and saluted respectfully, "Your Highness, I pay my respects to you, Father!"

Yang Jian looked at him for a while and said, "Tell me the truth, did Xiao Qilang find evidence of Lao Wu in Luoyang?"

Yang Guang did not dare to hide it, so he could only whisper: "That's right!"

"If I don't ask, you're not going to tell me, right?"

"I dare not, but my father is not in good health, and I don't want him to know these troubles anymore."

"Humph! It seems that you are still very filial."

Yang Guang kowtowed and said, "I am telling the truth. Although I have my own selfish motives and want to force my fifth brother to give up the Ministry of Revenue, I really hope that my father can live a hundred years, so that I can live longer."

Yang Jian narrowed his eyes and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Yang Guang lowered his head and said in a sad voice, "Once the crown prince ascends the throne, do you think he will let my family go?"

Yang Jian didn't speak for a long while. After a long while, he slowly said, "Go! Return the letter to Xiao Qilang and ask him to bring the letter to see me. As for the matter of the Ministry of Revenue, I will consider it."

Yang Guang kowtowed and said, "I'm leaving now!"

After Yang Guang left, Yang Jian paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. He was very upset, and his second son's words were like a knife piercing his worries.

If he went to see his deceased wife, would the five sons she left behind kill each other? Would his favorite grandchildren be slaughtered by the crown prince?

Frankly speaking, Yang Jian did not like his eldest son Yang Yong. He had a father's intuition that he always felt that his eldest son was not like his own son.

He did not doubt his wife's loyalty. When his eldest son Yang Yong was a child, he and he had a feeling of being connected as father and son. But since his eldest son fell seriously ill at the age of seventeen, that feeling of being connected as father and son suddenly disappeared, and it was as if his eldest son was replaced by another person.

Although nothing has changed, the feeling of blood inheritance between father and son has disappeared.

Only a father could feel this indescribable subtle change, and he didn't even dare to tell his wife.

As time went by, he felt more and more deeply the change in the blood relationship between father and son, and he became more and more disgusted with his eldest son. He began to think about changing the crown prince. He hinted to his wife several times that he wanted to change the crown prince, but his wife strongly opposed it. Since his eldest son was innocent, he could not find a reason to change the crown prince.

His wife passed away, and in the past two years Yang Jian felt that his end was approaching, and he became more and more anxious.

But it seems a little late to change the crown prince now.

He urgently needed a descendant who could step forward and save the country when the Sui Dynasty was in danger.

Xiao Qilang! Xiao Qilang, can you shoulder the responsibility of protecting my country?
Yang Jian felt it necessary to test the child again.

(End of this chapter)