Chapter 328 The Emperor passes away
Chapter 328 The Emperor passes away
At noon the next day, Yuwen Shu was waiting for the fleet in Zheng County. From here he would take the land route to Puzhou Pass and go to Hedong.
After waiting until dusk, the fleet still hadn't arrived, and Yuwen Shu began to feel something was wrong.
At this time, the eldest son Yu Wenzhi came in a hurry with a dozen of his men. He was almost crying, "Father, our fleet has been intercepted!"
"what?"
Yuwen Shu was shocked. "Where was he intercepted? Who intercepted him?"
"In Xinfeng County, they were intercepted by a fleet led by Xiong Kuohai. He asked my father to go and explain to the prince himself."
Hundreds of thousands of strings of wealth were intercepted just like that!
Yuwen Shu staggered and almost fainted. His second son Yuwen Shiji hurriedly supported him and said, "Father, money is only a thing outside of our body. It is a good thing that my eldest brother has returned safely."
Yuwen Shu nodded gently, "You are right, it is a blessing that no one is hurt!"
He looked back in the direction of Chang'an and said through gritted teeth, "Okay! Okay! Thank you for your gift, Your Highness. I will definitely repay you."
He turned his horse and shouted, "Let's go!"
The group followed Yuwen Shu towards Puzhou Pass.
The emperor had been in a deep coma for the second day. According to the experience of the imperial physician, this kind of deep coma would generally not last more than three days. Of course, there were some special cases. For example, the emperor woke up unexpectedly after taking the medicine sent by the princess last time.
But this time, the prince controlled the emperor's treatment and did not allow the emperor to take the eldest princess's medicine again. For this reason, Yang Lihua could not see her father.
At this time, the situation in the court was extremely tense, and many people felt that the emperor might die tonight.
"The Crown Prince is here!"
Someone shouted and the people in the ward separated to both sides.
Crown Prince Yang Yong walked quickly into the ward. He frowned and said, "Why are there so many people here? Get out of here!"
The eunuchs, palace maids, and imperial doctors all withdrew, and Yang Yong shouted again, "Doctor Sun, stay!"
After a while, everyone withdrew, leaving only the imperial physician Sun Zhe, who was also the director of the Imperial Medical Bureau.
Yang Yong glanced at his father, who was lying unconscious on the hospital bed, and asked, "Can your majesty make it through tonight?"
Sun Zhe shook his head slightly, "I'm not sure, but the possibility of making it through is slim."
"I understand, go ahead!"
Sun Zhe also stepped down. Yang Yong came to his father, looked at him quietly for a moment, and then sat down.
"It's been a long time since I sat next to my father like this, you know? Now I'm not afraid of you anymore."
Yang Yong smiled and said, "For so many years you have always disliked me, and even told others that you suspected that I was not your son. In fact, you can remove the word 'suspect'. I am indeed not your son. Your son died at the age of seventeen. I have endured for twenty years like a dog, with my tail between my legs. You suspected me, scolded me, and humiliated me, but what was the result? You still did not have the courage to depose me. I will eventually inherit your throne.
It's a pity that you almost passed the throne to your own son, but for a bastard, you handed the country to an outsider. I don't know if you can hear me, but it doesn't matter anymore. Even if you can hear me, you can't change the outcome. I won't let you live to see the dawn anyway. You'd better die by yourself to save me from having to do it."
Yang Yong stood up and touched Yang Jian's forehead, saying coldly: "Go quickly! Don't force me to do it, father!" Yang Yong walked out of the ward and ordered: "Order all ministers above the seventh rank and all royal family members in Chang'an to come to the palace tonight to accompany the emperor on his last journey!"
At the first watch, a palace gate in the southwest corner of the Weiyang Palace slowly opened, and carts pulled by mules and donkeys came out one after another. There were more than 400 carts in total. Each cart was filled with boxes and covered with oilcloth. On both sides of the carts followed more than 300 horse-riding warriors, led by Li Min.
As soon as the carriage left, the palace gate slowly closed again.
In Chang'an, it was impossible for so many large carts to leave the city at night, but it was possible in the old city. The side door of Weiyang Palace was quietly opened at night and no one knew about it. At this time, all officials were paying attention to the emperor's last moments, and no one would pay attention to the convoy leaving the city.
The official roads in Guanzhong are well-connected and all are flat and wide. The convoy went south along the southwest official road. Eighty miles ahead was Huxian County, but the convoy did not go to Huxian County. Instead, it went fifty miles south and turned onto the Hulan official road, the official road from Huxian County to Lantian County.
Then, without going to Lantian County, turn into the Lanzheng official road, the official road from Lantian County to Zheng County, and then turn into the Jingzhao main official road to Huayin County Manor to board the ship.
This perfectly avoided the three land surveillance points from Chunming Gate to Xinfeng County, the two interception points at Tongguan and Hanguguan, and the two water interception points at Xianyang and Xinfeng. It was also because the prince's mind was on the throne and he was not concerned about interception. Once he ascended the throne and found that many people had escaped, he would definitely tighten the inspection and interception, and it would be almost impossible to escape from Guanzhong at that time.
Thousands of officials and royal relatives waited in the Ganquan Palace Square for almost a whole night. Many elderly officials could not stand and had to sit on the ground.
At dawn, faint cries were heard from the palace. An eunuch stumbled over and cried loudly, "The emperor has passed away!"
There was a sudden cry of grief in the square. Everyone knelt on the ground and cried bitterly. The eldest princess Yang Lihua even fainted on the spot and was carried away by the palace maids to be treated by the imperial physician.
There was a mournful storm above the imperial palace. The Jingyang Bell rang slowly, conveying the news to the whole city that the Emperor of Sui had passed away.
In the Sanjin Restaurant near the south gate of Jinyang County, Taiyuan Prefecture, an official walked into the restaurant and sat down in a corner on the second floor. Not long after, a man sat down opposite him.
The official took advantage of the man's inattention and quickly handed him a note. The man put the note away, put a small cloth bag on the table, and left. The official picked up the cloth bag and opened it to see that there were exactly two hundred taels of silver. He then put the cloth bag in his arms, ordered two side dishes and a pot of wine, and started drinking by himself.
Sanjin Restaurant is a restaurant under the Dazhou Trading Company. Xiao Xia set up an intelligence point here to collect intelligence about Han King Yang Liang. The person in charge of the intelligence point is called Wang Mian, a minor official in the General Administration's Office. Because he is from Taiyuan, he was sent to Taiyuan by Xiao Xia.
Wang Mian returned to the backyard of the restaurant. He took out the note and looked at it, then immediately copied a pigeon letter, rolled it up and stuffed it into a small bamboo tube.
Soon, a carrier pigeon took off into the air, circled in the sky a few times, and flew towards the south.
In Songcheng County, more than a dozen greenhouses have been built on the main roads in the past few days. There are long queues in front of each greenhouse, all of them are young and strong men. This is the Liangzhou General Administration Office recruiting new soldiers.
The recruitment conditions were simple: the height requirement was to be over six feet, and the soldier had to be able to lift an eighty-jin stone lock above his head.
If the application is successful, you will receive two strings of money and one stone of rice as resettlement allowance, report to the military camp the next day, and then receive a monthly military salary of three strings of money and one month's home leave every year.
Most of the applicants were poor people and landless farmers in the city. Being a soldier could not only ensure they had enough food to eat, but also earn money to support their families, which was very attractive. If they unfortunately died in battle, their families would receive a pension of 100 strings of cash, which relieved their worries. Therefore, the people signed up enthusiastically.
Xiao Xia rode on horseback to inspect each recruitment point. The prince had previously allowed him to recruit 20,000 soldiers. Excluding the 6,000 he currently had, he could recruit another 14,000. Although the officials of the General Administration's Office did not agree, Xiao Xia made it clear that he would bear all the responsibility.
Things have come to this point, and everyone has nothing to say but to fully cooperate with him in recruiting soldiers.
Of course Xiao Xia would not pay for it himself, but would directly deduct money from the court's taxes. Although the prince has not given him a clear answer yet, Xiao Xia does not want to give a penny to the court.
Recruiting soldiers is not only in Liang County, but also in Xingyang County and Dong County. There are recruitment points. Applicants are enthusiastic and the conditions are generally good. It looks like it will only take a few days to complete the recruitment of 14,000 new recruits.
At this time, a cavalryman came running to report, "General Manager, Liu Zhucheng wants to see you urgently!"
(End of this chapter)