Chapter 399 Return to Hexi
Chapter 399 Return to Hexi
When she heard that her husband was appointed as the ambassador for the construction of the canal, Princess Cui burst into tears. "Father, don't you know? You are in poor health and cannot be tired. If you are tired, your heart will be in trouble. If anything happens to your husband, what will happen to us, an orphan and a widow?"
Yang Zhao panicked and quickly comforted his wife, "I won't be there forever. I'll be there for a few months at most. I'll set the rules and then come back. Look at Prime Minister Yang, he was the director of the construction of the Eastern Capital, didn't he also go back to Chang'an? It's the same for me. The people below do the specific work, and I just set the rules."
Cui choked up and said, "Then can't you make the rules in Chang'an and let others enforce them?"
Yang Zhao sighed and said, "My father built the Eastern Capital and dug the Grand Canal. He conscripted millions of civilians at every turn. Local officials took the opportunity to bully the people. These officials don't care about the country. They just want to make a living. If this continues, the people will not be able to make a living. The people will rebel. Sooner or later, the Sui Dynasty will be destroyed by them.
I can't persuade my father, so I can only try every possible way to reduce the harm to the people. If the third brother is here, I can hand it over to him, but the third brother is still fighting in the Western Regions, so I can only do it myself. But don't worry, I won't take my life as a joke. I will only receive the people, listen to their demands, and then formulate rules. With the help of Gao Shangshu, I won't be too tired!"
"How long will my husband be gone?"
"It's July now, and I'll be back by the end of the year at the latest. Don't worry! I have the tents and livestock given by the third brother, and the power of dismissal given to me by my father. I can punish anyone who dares not to listen to me!"
Three days later, Yang Zhao left Chang'an for Luoyang. At the same time, Emperor Yang Guang issued an order to recruit one million laborers in six counties, including Xiangcheng County, Yuyang County, Nanyang County, Yingchuan County, Henei County, and Wei County, to replace the laborers currently in the Eastern Capital.
The laborers in Dongdu will return to their hometowns and counties, and after resting for a while, they will re-engage in the project of dredging and widening the river.
Because there are many preliminary things to do before digging the Grand Canal, such as the direction of the river, the plan for dredging the river, and the allocation of materials, and then excavation can begin.
At present, a large amount of food, tents and other supplies as well as a large number of livestock are being sent to the Central Plains. Although Emperor Yang Guang is a little unsympathetic to the people's strength, the Han Canal was dredged during the reign of Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty, and rich experience has been accumulated. The officials have plans and programs to promote the excavation and dredging of the canal in an orderly manner.
Gao Jiong also went to Luoyang with the prince.
The team passed through Xinfeng County. In the carriage, Gao Jiong was discussing the details of canal dredging with Yang Zhao. Gao Jiong had participated in the dredging of the Han Canal and had rich experience. He highly praised Yang Zhao's plan of not leaving the county and his plan of contributing money and manpower, which could indeed greatly reduce the workload of the laborers.
"Your Highness, there are some details we need to consider. It would be best if Your Highness could control an army, especially in Luoyang."
"why?"
Gao Jiong said worriedly: "I am very worried that the King of Qi in Luoyang will intercept our supplies."
Yang Zhao waved his hand and said, "He can't intercept us. Our supplies are transported by water and bypass Luoyang."
"Your Highness, I am worried about the livestock."
Yang Zhao was stunned for a moment, then thought about it and it was true. Hundreds of thousands of livestock passing through Luoyang would indeed attract the attention of his second brother.
"What should I do?"
Gao Jiong opened the map and said, "Or the hundreds of thousands of livestock can go to Ji County instead of Luoyang. There are 10,000 troops of Zhou Fashang in Liyang Warehouse. Your Highness can ask the emperor to transfer Zhou Fashang's troops to us. He will build a floating bridge for the livestock to cross the Yellow River and go directly to Liang County through Dongjun. Moreover, Zhou Fashang is an upright person. With his 10,000 troops, many things will be easier to handle."
Yang Zhao thought that Zhou Fashang was his third brother's man and could be trusted, so he said happily: "I will write a letter to my father right away!"
"Wait a minute, there is one more thing I need to ask the emperor for instructions."
"Speak, Minister!"
"There are also the Censors. The Crown Prince will petition the Emperor to assign twenty Censors to Your Highness."
"Why do we need to monitor the censors?"
Gao Jiong sighed and said, "Your Highness has money and can contribute his strength. This one will definitely be exploited by some local officials. I know these local officials too well. They will definitely collect ten times the canal fee and enrich themselves."
"But I will set rules. I will write down in detail how much money each household will pay, so that they will not be able to exploit any loopholes."
"Your Highness, it's useless. The local officials have plenty of ways to deal with it. The only way is to send censors to inspect the counties and send troops to follow the inspections. Simply kill a few of them to deter these corrupt officials, and they won't dare to mess around."
Yang Zhao nodded, "I understand!"
He immediately wrote a letter and sent his men back to Chang'an to give it to Cui Hongzhou, the Prince's Secretary, asking him to deliver his letter to the emperor. On the seventh day of August, Xiao Xia finally returned from Khotan after a long journey and arrived in Wuwei County.
Ah Chu trotted back to the inner house, "Madam! Xiaoqing, His Highness is back! His Highness is back!"
Cui Yu was chatting with Xiaoqing and her sister in the room. When she heard that her husband had returned, she was so happy that she ran out immediately.
"Where is my husband?"
"I heard they have already entered the city and will be back soon."
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard Butler Liu shouting outside: "Your Highness is back!"
Cui Yu ran to the gate in one breath, only to see Xiao Xia dismounting and walking into the door. Cui Yu didn't care about the people around her, she rushed directly into her husband's arms and burst into tears.
Xiao Xia hugged his wife, stroked her hair gently and said with a smile: "I'm finally back!"
He left home in early March and returned in early August, a full five months, and he was on the road most of the time. Especially this time when he came back from Khotan, he walked for three months and was exhausted.
Cui Yu stroked her husband's dark, thin face, which was covered with stubble. Her eyes turned red, and she felt extremely distressed. She hurriedly said, "My husband, please go to the study to rest. I'll ask the servants to boil some water for you to take a bath!"
Xiao Xia took a comfortable hot bath, changed into clean and soft clothes, and sat comfortably in the soft chair, drinking tea while reading the short report that Fang Xuanling had just sent.
The so-called short reports are a collection of various important political affairs. Each message has only a few dozen words, including the government affairs under his jurisdiction and major court affairs. If you are interested, you can listen to the detailed report.
Xiao Xia was suddenly stunned when he saw the prince being appointed as the ambassador for the construction of the canal. Historically, his elder brother did not participate in the construction of the canal. Managing the construction and dredging of the canal is a huge project. Can his elder brother's body withstand it?
He became worried and looked at the short report again. Gao Jiong was the deputy envoy. Xiao Xia immediately decided that he must write a letter to remind Gao Jiong not to let the prince get tired.
Xiao Xia did what he said. He picked up a pen and wrote a letter. He was going to send someone to Chang'an, and he could take the letter with him.
At this time, his wife Cui Yu led several female guards and carried three boxes into the yard.
Xiao Xia quickly stood up and walked out the door, saying with a smile: "Just leave it here! I'll move the rest!"
"Husband, just carry it directly into the study!"
"also!"
Xiao Xia quickly asked the female guard to carry the box into the room. After the female guard left, Cui Yu asked curiously, "She said it was very heavy. What is it?"
Xiao Xia smiled slightly and said, "I went to Khotan. This is the beautiful jade I brought back from Khotan. There are more than a hundred pieces in this box."
"My husband brought back more than 300 yuan?" Cui Yu was surprised and happy.
"Far more than that. I brought back more than a hundred boxes, all of which are top-quality jade. These three boxes were selected piece by piece from the more than a hundred boxes. They are the best of the best, and each piece is perfect."
Xiao Xia opened a box, and Cui Yu's beautiful eyes lit up. She squatted down to pick out the beautiful jade. Each piece was so full and perfect, with delicate and white jade flesh and bright red skin like clouds, without a trace of cracks. It was so smooth to the touch that she couldn't let it go.
"Husband, have you brought back all the more than a hundred boxes?"
"I want to send it to Chang'an Jewelry Shop."
Cui Yu stepped forward, hugged her husband's neck and said coquettishly: "Bring it back and let me choose first!"
Xiao Xia kissed her and said with a smile, "Okay! I'll bring them back for you to choose from first. You can keep all of them if you want. Anyway, there are still a batch in the army and the soldiers have a lot of them. I will use the public power for personal gain and sell them all to my own jewelry store."
(End of this chapter)