Chapter 309 Arrangements for Funerals

Chapter 309 Arrangements for Funerals

Chapter 309 Arrangements for Funerals
A few more days passed and the emperor did not have any major problems. The fainting was just a false alarm, and order was gradually restored in the court.

Yang Liang also secretly felt lucky that he did not launch a coup, otherwise he would be really finished.

Yang Guang also breathed a sigh of relief. He was most afraid that something might happen to his father. He had not yet made preparations for evacuation. Once his father passed away, even if he could escape from Chang'an, he would not be able to escape from Guanzhong.

This morning, Crown Prince Yang Yong came to the harem to pay a visit to his father. Although Yang Jian's life was temporarily safe, he suffered from hemiplegia and lost sensation in his lower limbs. He is currently undergoing acupuncture treatment.

"Your Highness, I pay my respects to you, Father. I wish you good health and a speedy recovery!"

"Get up!"

Yang Jian looked at his son with dissatisfaction. He disliked his eldest son very much. He could not feel any blood connection between father and son in his eldest son. But it was too late to change the crown prince now. Changing the crown prince rashly would only plunge the Sui Dynasty into chaos.

Yang Jian could only suppress his strong dissatisfaction.

"How is the matter of the emperor's eldest grandson resolved?"

"Reporting to the Emperor, the child has been taken to the Eastern Palace, and I am raising him on his behalf."

"Did you kill that woman?"

"Your Majesty, I asked someone to tell me that it would be unlucky to kill that woman. I have changed her name and surname, and she will be selected into the Eastern Palace. I will then give her to Prince Changning. I will send Prince Changning away, and he will come back with the child in a few years."

Yang Jian snorted, "It is no longer possible for him to be the Prince of Changning. He is demoted to the Marquis of Yan'an County and sent to Yan'an County to reflect on his mistakes for three years."

"My son obeys the order!"

"What about the Yuan family's affairs?" Yang Jian asked again.

Yang Yong sighed and said, "When the daughter of the Yuan family heard that Yang Yan had lost one hand, she refused to marry him. I heard that she took medicine and miscarried the child, but she said it was not Yang Yan's child and had nothing to do with Yang Yan."

"What is the Yuan family's attitude?"

"The Yuan family remained silent. They said nothing and made no statement."

"It doesn't matter if they don't express their views. The key is the Pei family. You have to go to their house in person to apologize and compensate them."

"My son understands!"

Yang Yong hesitated for a moment, then said, "I have something else to report to you, Father!"

"what's up?"

"I feel that the situation in various places is unstable. The Yue people in Kuaiji County in the south of the Yangtze River are rebelling, attacking cities and counties, and killing Han people. In addition, Qimin Khan is dissatisfied because we did not agree to give him the Hetao area, and he keeps gathering troops in the Yinshan area. I suggest that the King of Jin be appointed as the Grand Commander of Yangzhou and be stationed in Yangzhou to stabilize the situation in the south of the Yangtze River. In addition, the King of Han Yang Liang be appointed as the Grand Commander of Bingzhou and be ordered to lead the army to guard against the Turks. The King of Qin is appointed as the Grand Commander of Qinzhou to stabilize Longyou and Hexi. The King of Shu Yang Xiu can be appointed as the Grand Commander of Yizhou and be stationed in Bashu to prevent the Liao people from rebelling again."

It was Zhang Yunqiu's suggestion to enfeoff Yang Liang in Bingzhou. Taking Yang Liang out could effectively prevent him from launching a coup. He could then reduce his power after the crown prince had firmly established himself on the throne. Even if Yang Liang rebelled, it would not be justified and not many people would follow him in rebellion. The imperial army could easily defeat Yang Liang.

It was Yang Jian's original idea to appoint several sons to various places to rule the country. Previously, he used his sons to compete for the throne to consolidate the throne. Now that his time is up, he does not want to see his relatives fighting each other after his death, so appointing them to different places is the best way.

Yang Jian was silent for a moment and then asked, "What is Prime Minister Gao's opinion?"

"I have already talked to Prime Minister Gao, and he agrees with my proposal."

Yang Jian nodded, "I understand. Let me think about it!"

In the middle of the night, Yang Guang was woken up from his sleep. "What happened?" Yang Guang asked in a daze.

"Your Majesty, someone has come from the palace and said there is something very important!"

'Someone's coming from the palace!'

Yang Guang was startled and quickly stood up and put on his clothes. He soon came to the courtyard, where a young eunuch had been waiting for a long time. He was the confidant of Yang Yue, the chief eunuch of the imperial palace.

It was a cold night and the young eunuch was jumping up and down with cold. When he saw Yang Guang coming out, he hurried forward and handed him a note.

"Nothing else!"

"Thanks for your hard work!"

Yang Guang ordered the housekeeper, "Reward him with twenty taels of silver and send a carriage to take him back."

"Thank you for the generous reward, Your Majesty. I don't need a carriage. I have one!"

Yang Guang also asked the steward to give the driver two strings of cash as a reward, and then he returned to the inner house with the note.

"My Lord, what's the important matter?" Empress Xiao came forward and asked. Yang Guang didn't know whether he was happy or sad. He sighed and said, "The emperor has issued an edict to appoint me as the Grand Commander of Yangzhou, which is actually the governor of Yangzhou."

"Ah! Does that mean the prince is going to Jiangdu?"

Yang Guang nodded, "That should be what he meant. Yang Yue also said that this was the prince's suggestion!"

"Prince?"

Princess Xiao couldn't believe it. "The prince will let us go? This is like letting a dragon into the sea. When did he become so soft-hearted?"

"I don't understand either, but I suspect it's the Third Brother who's behind this."

"How did the prince know?"

"He told Dalang before that I would go to Jiangdu. At that time, I felt that he had made some kind of deal with the prince. Now it has been verified."

Princess Xiao was a little worried and said, "Will the prince be angry with the third brother again because of this matter?"

Yang Guang shook his head, "I won't be angry with him anymore."

Princess Xiao said happily: "Then we have to clean up quickly!"

Yang Guang sat down slowly and sighed deeply, "Although I am very reluctant, I have to go. I hope I can come back one day!"

On the morning of the next day, the emperor officially issued an edict to change the Grand General Administration Office into the Grand Marshal's Office, and appointed Yang Guang, Prince of Jin, as the Grand Marshal of Yangzhou, in charge of all counties south of the Huai River, east of Yuzhang County, and north of Fu'an County. He also appointed Yang Liang, Prince of Han, as the Grand Marshal of Bing Wei, in charge of Hedong and Hebei counties. He appointed Yang Jun, Prince of Qin, as the Grand Marshal of Qinzhou, in charge of Longyou and Hexi counties. He appointed Yang Xiu, Prince of Shu, as the Grand Marshal of Yizhou, in charge of all counties in Bashu.

They not only commanded various military offices, but also governed various counties. That is, each county not only had to report to the imperial court, but also had to report to the Grand Marshal's Office and accept dual leadership.

The decree required the four of them to set out for their posts within three days.

The issuance of this decree meant that the five dragons' battle for the throne that had lasted for many years had temporarily come to an end and the imperial power could be smoothly transferred. However, another shadow loomed in the hearts of all the civil and military officials in the court, and that was civil war. Would a civil war break out in the Sui Dynasty?
No matter whether it was Prince of Jin Yang Guang, Prince of Qin Yang Jun, or Prince of Shu Yang Xiu, they were able to accept this decree calmly. However, Prince of Han Yang Liang was caught off guard.

He was irritable for the whole day, but finally, under the persuasion of his subordinates, he had to face the reality. Although he could no longer launch a joint coup, at least he had the territory and the army, and he could completely establish his own power and then look for an opportunity to enter Chang'an and seize the throne.

In the afternoon, Xiao Xia was summoned by the emperor to the palace for an audience.

He hurried to the Ziwei Palace and was led by the eunuchs before the emperor. Xiao Xia knelt down and saluted, "Grandson greets the emperor. I hope the emperor will recover soon!"

"No need to be polite, please take a seat!"

Xiao Xia sat down in front of the emperor. Yang Jian lay on the bed and smiled, "Your medicine is very good. It saved my life. I am very grateful to you. I will not take back the gold medal and give it to you!"

"Thank you, Grandfather Emperor, for your kindness!"

Yang Jian then said to the surrounding palace maids and eunuchs: "All of you, step back!"

Everyone left, leaving only Xiao Xia and Tianzi in the room.

Yang Jian said slowly: "I appointed you as the General of the Right Guard so that you can have an army and protect your father from leaving Chang'an at a critical moment. Now it is not necessary, I will appoint you to another position."

"My grandson will obey my grandfather's orders!"

Yang Jian sighed deeply and said, "My time is running out. I can feel it. I am not afraid of death, but I have not arranged many things. I feel very upset."

Xiao Xia held his grandfather's hand and said, "Grandfather, why don't you tell your grandson about it!"

"You know, right? I don't want the crown prince to inherit the throne. It's not because of his ability or any other reason, but because I always feel that he is not my son. I don't feel the blood connection between him and me. Your father and several other uncles have it, but he doesn't. Xiao Qilang, I really don't want to hand over the throne to him, but he is the crown prince, my eldest son, and I can't not hand it over to him."

Of course Xiao Xia knew very well that how could a storyteller from the Qing Dynasty have a father-son relationship with the emperor's grandfather? The real prince Yang Yong had died at the age of seventeen.

He could only keep these words in his heart.

After a moment of silence, Yang Jian asked again: "Do you still remember that I asked you to be the Crown Prince?"

"Grandfather, that matter is over."

"No!"

Yang Jian took out a thin golden tube from under his pillow, handed it to Xiao Xia and said, "You want to be a chess player, I support you very much. One day in the future, you will get the throne through your own efforts. This decree will allow you to legally become the emperor of the Sui Dynasty. I will make you the crown prince. I have seen through it. Only you can inherit my Sui Dynasty, not even your father!"

(End of this chapter)