Chapter 1015: Just fool around

Chapter 1015: Just fool around

Chapter 1015: Just fool around

After the Shan brothers took their seats, they did not start discussing matters immediately.

In fact, they waited for a while and another brother from the Yang family arrived.

Yang Gu was the Imperial Court Minister, but he was famous for his calligraphy, especially the cursive and running scripts.

Yang Wei, the Grand Coachman, is not known for his abilities.

In terms of the seniority within the Yang clan of Taishan, Yang Gu is one generation older. He is of the same generation as Yang Man, Yang Dan, and Yang Xianrong.

Yang Wei's father, Yang Ji, was once the General of the Guards who Protected the Xiongnu in the Jin Dynasty. He also had an elder brother named Yang Jian, who served as an official in the Pseudo-Liang Dynasty and served as the Governor of Jizhou.

Sounds like a hook up with the North, right? What about the Shan brothers?

Let’s not talk about the fact that Crown Princess Shan was the niece of Yang Man and Yang Dan. What about the fact that Shan Wei’s second brother Shan Shihui served as the Chief of the Left Cavalry Guard of the Pseudo-Liang Dynasty?
If you really keep harping on this, you will have no one to turn to. Which of the scholars who migrated to the south didn't have relatives in the north?
If it doesn't work, arrest Director Wang first.

By the way, Liu Wei and Bian Xu must also be arrested. There are too many people to arrest.

The current emperor and Shao Xun are from the same school. One is a relative of Sima Yue, and the other is his family general. They each have gathered a part of Sima Yue's power. Can they really be told apart?
It's just a waste of time!
"Daoan, why are you so late?" Shan Wei greeted Yang Gu with a smile.

"It's really bad luck." Yang Gu sighed, "Today I changed into casual clothes and went out on the street. I met a Taoist priest who forced me to buy magic water. I came back late."

"The Taoists are really getting more and more outrageous." Shan Wei said, "The monks are still the best. They advise people to get rid of evil, cleanse their minds, and accumulate good deeds. In this way, evil can be turned into good, and there will be less hostility in the world."

"You can't say that." Yang Wei said with a smile: "Emperor Xuan is a ghost official."

As soon as these words were spoken, all five people present laughed.

"What are you talking about?" Sima Fei walked in from outside and asked.

"It is said that the Prime Minister comes from a family of Taoists." Shan Xia glanced at everyone and said.

The rest of them just smiled and said nothing.

"It's not just the Wang family of Langya." Sima Fei sat down and said, "The Xie family, the Sun family, and the Yin family are all like this. The big families in Wu, such as the Ge, Tao, Shen, and Kong families, are all the same. Even my youngest brother has Taoist priests around him."

Of course, he forgot to mention the Sima family, because they were the ones who truly believed in Taoism.

"Let's talk business." Sima Fei rubbed his brows and said, "Yesterday, I accompanied the emperor on a tour. On the way, His Majesty mentioned the matter of the Northern Expedition to Rejuvenate the Central Plains. His words were urgent, and I had to agree. The Shao bandit entered Guanzhong in March and attacked Liangzhou in April. The outcome is still unknown. The ministers in the court all think that Liangzhou is difficult to attack due to its high mountains and long roads. It may be a stalemate in the short term. But if it is delayed for a long time, Liangzhou may be at a disadvantage."

"Also, Tao Kan of Jingzhou reported that a delegation from Liangzhou passed through Shuzhong and arrived in Jiangling. They are now on their way to Jianye. They are so loyal that we must support them and not let them down."

After saying that, he looked at everyone.

"I wonder if Your Highness has talked with the officials in the Eastern Palace?" Shan Xia asked, bowing.

"We talked until midnight yesterday." Sima Pei said, "Today I want to ask you what you think."

"What did the officials in the Eastern Palace say?" Shan Xia asked.

Sima Fei pondered for a moment and whispered, "Delay and wait for changes."

Shan Xia felt a little relieved and a little sad when he heard this.

Those people in the Eastern Palace may not be very good in other aspects, but they are good at understanding people's hearts. They must have seen that what the emperor said about "Northern Expedition", "support", and "not letting people down" were all sarcasm, because this court did not have the ability to launch a large-scale Northern Expedition from the beginning, nor had it supported others, and had always let people down.

Let's not talk about the distant past. What happened before the current emperor ascended the throne? Jianye had accumulated a total of 20,000 troops over the years, and they all went out, saying that they were going to march north, but in the end, didn't they give up?

The imperial court was ashamed and decided to kill Chunyu Bo, but anyone with a discerning eye could see what was really going on.

The Northern Expedition was abandoned halfway. Could the little Chunyu Bo take on this responsibility?

So, now everyone knows that the Northern Expedition is just a joke, it is just talk. If you take it seriously, you are a fool and will be ridiculed.

"It's better to wait until things get better." Shan Wei praised: "Your Highness can just go to Jiangbei for an inspection. Stay longer in each place. It can be as short as a month or as long as several months. In this way, it won't be long before news comes back from the north."

"What Yan Zu said is very true." Yang Gu shook his head and said, "We have no soldiers and no food for the Northern Expedition. What can we do? We must not touch this matter. If we win, it's fine. If we lose, everything will be over."

"Daoan is right. Liu Kun is stationed in Huaiyin, Su Jun is stationed in Guangling, Zhuge Hui is stationed in Jingkou, and Zu Yue is guarding Shouchun. Who can move these four armies? I'm afraid it's difficult to mobilize any of them. Even if they reluctantly go into battle, they won't try their best, and the emperor might even blame them."

"It's hard to say about others, but it's impossible to order the people in Jingkou around. Zhuge Hui has a close relationship with the Shi family, so it's difficult for him to obey your Highness."

"Jiangbei Fengyue is not bad, it's okay to take a walk."

Several people talked one after another and soon analyzed the situation clearly and plainly.

It must be said that although these people seem unreliable, what they say is not outrageous. On the contrary, they seem to have a sense of the mentality of Sima Rui, Wang Dao and the scholars who fled south. Perhaps, they themselves are scholars who fled south, and they are officials in the court, exposed to first-hand information every day. It is not difficult for them to guess other people's thoughts by judging others by themselves.

After hearing what they said, Sima Fei's face looked much better.

In fact, the officials of the Eastern Palace also said so, but he was still a little worried last night after tossing and turning. Today, he heard Shan and Yang, his wife's relatives, also said so, and he was completely relieved.

"Speaking of which, Shao is quite capable of doing things." Sima Fei said with emotion: "He is already forty years old. How many years do he have left to live? If I lived in Luoyang and held the power in the north, I would have been able to rule the country by now."

"At this age, it's time to think about how to pass on the throne." Shan Wei echoed, "If he dies suddenly and his funeral is not arranged properly, won't the world be in chaos?"

The scholars who moved south were really terrified by the word "sudden death" because there were too many people who died in this way, and often the cause of death was not known until the end, so they could only attribute it to gods and ghosts, because you couldn't explain why a young and strong person suddenly died without any signs.

Shan came in with several palace servants, carrying tea and snacks. The tea was very ordinary, and no one knew which county had offered it as tribute.

The snacks are candied fruits and the like, and it is said that they were made by the Crown Princess herself, which must have been a lot of work.

Everyone stood up and expressed their gratitude.

After Shan put down the tea and snacks, she waved her hand to let the palace servants leave, then sat aside and quietly sorted out her bookcases.

No one took it seriously; they were used to it.

Shan Xia only glanced at his younger sister, then cleared his throat and said, "Your Highness, could you ask for a document to mobilize troops? There are 20,000 imperial guards. If we can mobilize a few thousand or even ten thousand people, it will be much safer when we march north."

Shan's hand paused slightly.

"A few thousand people are enough." Sima Fei was in a relaxed mood and said with a smile: "The Shao bandit is far away in Liangzhou, and the north is empty, so it's okay."

Yang Wei stroked his beard and smiled, "The more the better. Just to scare Shao the thief. We can't really go swimming."

Shan put down a pile of manuscripts.

There were a few drops of candle wax on the corner of the first page of the manuscript, but the handwriting was elegant and beautiful without a trace of sloppiness, obviously written by Shan.

"My husband, you must not underestimate the enemy." Shan suddenly raised her head and said, "Shao Taibai is a scholar who has come this far. He must have something extraordinary. I heard that many people in Jianye ridiculed him because of his background. This is really not right."

"My husband, even if you are short of soldiers and food and unable to fight in the north, you should not waste time. I heard that there are many refugees from Qingxu, Yuyan and even Hebei in Jiangbei. Some of them have been farming for more than ten years, and some have been for nearly twenty years. However, the court does not allow them to register as residents in Yangzhou. It is difficult to describe the difficulties. My husband might as well make more inquiries, and then report to the court, requesting the establishment of overseas counties and counties, so that they can register as residents. In this way, the people will be very happy and grateful to you. Isn't it a good thing?"

Why didn’t they allow the refugees to cross the river? Why didn’t they set up overseas counties? The reasons are very complicated.

Setting up overseas counties and prefectures to accommodate refugees requires land.

Most of the scholars who moved south were proud of their original county and hometown status. For example, the Jiang family of Jiyang was a prominent family in the north. After the Jiang family members moved south, they often called themselves "Jiang family of Jiyang" or "Jiang family of Chenliu". After you set up Jiyang County for them, they would have a home, which would make it much easier for them to be officials or do other things.

This is a favor, and there are many benefits after getting it.

Sima Fei seemed to understand something after hearing this.

Seeing that her husband understood, Shan stopped interfering and went out with the tray, leaving the space for the men.

The sun is getting higher outside.

The weather in May was a bit hot, but the palace servants were still working in the vegetable fields.

Shan took a look and ordered, "Go and have a rest, and come back in the evening."

The palace maids bowed and left as if they had been pardoned.

A gentle breeze blew, ruffling Shan's hair and skirt.

She looked carefully at the vegetable plots and fruit trees inside and outside the yard, a slight smile appeared on the corners of her mouth, and an incomparable sense of satisfaction surged in her heart.

She walked over gently.

There were some petals scattered on the ground. She gently picked up a few petals, placed them in the palm of her hand, and looked at them quietly for a long time, as if she could draw strength and beauty from the fallen petals.

"Your Highness, the meat smells so good. I will not leave today. I must have a good meal."

"I heard that Your Highness has obtained dozens of bushels of wild rice. Summer is approaching, and wild rice with forbidden meat is something that even a god would not exchange."

There were sounds of talking and laughing outside the hallway.

Shan scattered the fallen flowers in his palms at the tree roots, then turned around and walked calmly to the outside of the kitchen to check how lunch was prepared.

Finally, he added: "Give some wine and meat to the doormen and guards, and allow them to take them home."

After giving the instructions, he returned to the bedroom.

The furnishings in the room were ordinary, without any sign of luxury, except for some gold, silver items and brocade placed on two couches.

Shan watched carefully.

The prince will go to the Ma family to see his birth mother tomorrow. Although the expenses of the Eastern Palace are not abundant, this matter cannot be sloppy and must be fully prepared.

She picked them one by one, put the gifts to be given away aside, and then told the palace servants to take them away and pack them up.

After doing all this, she came to the window and opened it.

Seeing that no one noticed, she stretched comfortably, revealing the proud figure of the 24-year-old woman.

Soon, Shan's face turned red as if he had done something out of the ordinary. He sat down, picked up a copied official letter on the desk and examined it carefully.

"Since the spring, it has rained continuously, soaking the roads. The disaster has brought great hardship to the people. Your humble servant Zu Yue weeps and sheds tears to present this petition, requesting the payment of money and grain..."

Shan read it once and then read it again.

Zu Shishao seems to have asked for money and food several times. Is the flood in Huainan really that serious? What does the court think?
(End of this chapter)