The rise of the prince

Chapter 665 Aura + Death
Li Xingzhou reached out to touch the people around him, but found nothing. He slowly opened his eyes, and vaguely saw two figures busy by the window in the morning light.

"Come here and sleep again." Li Xingzhou said lazily, stretching out his hand to pull him.

Gillian took two steps back shyly, Shiyu said bluntly: "Get up, didn't you say you were going to visit Master Xue last night, Gillian has prepared all the gifts for you."

"What are we going to do so early in the morning?" Li Xingzhou lazily turned over.

"If you don't go to other people's house, you will be on duty. You think everyone is as free as you." Shiyu said.

Li Xingzhou stretched his waist: "Hey, I'm not idle. I'm busy. It's just that they are busy during the day and I am busy at night. They are all busy."

Gillian's face was so red that water dripped out.

Shiyu also patted him lightly, "Rogue."

Li Xingzhou laughed, and got up and put on his clothes. He thought that he would have a few days of leisure after returning from the war, but he didn't expect to be involved in this matter again.

No one can save Yang Hongzhao except him. He has to run around for this matter. Fortunately, the stones in He Zhao's latrine were removed. Most of the other six officials and the heads of the third department were keenly aware of the change in the situation and began to move closer to him. He came to the door for this matter. Speaking, basically agreed.

Especially for Tang Zhouwei, as soon as he opened his mouth, he immediately patted his chest purple and promised that he would definitely help Yang Hongzhao speak in the court.

Although it is a happy event to have a new breakthrough, it is not a good thing to be busy again.

To him, running around for the past few days was nothing more than exhaustion, but to Yang Hongzhao, it was a matter of life and death.

This incident is a beginning, and if this opening is well made, things will follow in many ways in the future. There is still a long way to go, and we have to take it step by step.

When all the dust settles and he can dominate the court, many things can be done slowly, such as road construction that has been planned long ago. Road construction is not only for business, but also to strengthen the control of the central government over the local area, so that Reduce the risk of drastic reforms.

This is Li Xingzhou's political purpose, but road construction is different from others. It not only serves his political ideals, but also benefits the people and promotes economic development, so he will definitely do it.

"Nowadays, it seems that there are not many backbones in the court. Didn't they all read the books of sages since childhood?" Li Xingzhou shook his head mockingly.

Shiyu brought him breakfast, and then shook his head: "It's not that simple. If you are alone, you will naturally not be afraid of anything, but most of the ministers in the court have tens or hundreds of people behind them. Some of them are more involved. Maybe it's a few rich and famous families, even if they want to insist, there are so many people behind them, they will force them to compromise.

Sometimes it is involuntary, and most of the people who dare to fight are those who have nothing. "

Shiyu said, put the dishes in front of him, Li Xingzhou wanted to do something, but she stopped him, "Go and wash first."

"What you said is also reasonable. Barefoot people are not afraid of people wearing shoes. That's why I'm worried about the prince." Li Xingzhou said while washing his face.

"In my opinion, the prince is not barefoot. Even if the emperor abolishes him in the future, the abolished prince can at least get a prince, and it is not a problem to enjoy half his life." Shiyu was dissatisfied with his perfunctory, and pulled him back to continue washing. explain.

Li Xingzhou enjoyed the service of poetry, nodded and said: "What you said makes sense, the crown prince is ambitious but not courageous, coupled with such worries, he might not dare to act rashly.

But according to what you said, how many barefoot people are there in Beijing?The capital is full of rich and powerful, and most of them have more or less family property. "

Shiyu thought for a while, "Yes, Yang Hongzhao is."

"Yang Hongzhao? How many years has he been the commander in front of the palace?"

"That happened before. Now he is white and waiting for Yushitai to come down. Whether his life can be saved is still a problem. In addition, his son's new funeral, it's not nothing." Shiyu finally helped him wash his face carefully, and then Dry with a towel.

"You seem to be right." Li Xingzhou nodded.

"Besides, in the great war in the north, tens of thousands of people died and tens of thousands escaped. How many families would be destroyed? Now the capital is full of barefoot people."

"That's right." Li Xingzhou nodded: "Everything is low-grade, but the only one who can study well is high. If it wasn't for being forced to have no way to make a living, who would join the Forbidden Army? Not to mention that the road is not easy to walk, and the military salary is deducted every year. It is a problem to support the family. .”

Shiyu wrung out the towel, and finally wiped it carefully for him, "That's why warrior families produce warriors. Not only do they teach them from words and deeds, but also because they have no way to go, and those who have a way to go go elsewhere earlier."

"Sigh, being an official cannot be monopolized by scholars." Li Xingzhou sighed and said, "It's a pity that this matter will change. Just thinking about it makes me feel like I'm in a hurry."

"What nonsense you said, you don't want to live anymore." Shiyu said anxiously, he really didn't want to live anymore, let alone a prince, if he was too big, if their Li family dared to publicly play such a banner, they would be afraid that all the people in the world would sit down. Can't stop, this is no joke.

Li Xingzhou smiled, "Didn't I just tell you?" Then changed the subject: "So many people have died, and there are so many barefoot people in the capital, I'm afraid there will be chaos again."

"Well, it's very likely that most of them are old people in the imperial army, and many of them should have been transferred to Beijing to take up military positions. Once their descendants die, it is inevitable for these people to hate the court." Shiyu shook his head: "It's also hard for these old people in the imperial army. It can be regarded as serving the country for generations, and I have been deducted half of my life's salary, and now my descendants will fight for the court and die in the north."

Hearing this, Li Xingzhou also booed endlessly. The embezzlement of military pay was secretly ordered by the emperor. Only in this way can he feel safe and feel that he can separate the three generals from the imperial army. If they don't collude, the emperor can feel at ease.

The emperor did have a sense of security, but as for those old imperial guards, the emperor would naturally not think about them. After all, the emperor puts the overall situation first, and the so-called overall situation means that the stability of the imperial power comes first.

Thinking about it, Li Xingzhou suddenly thought of something, something flashed in his mind
As Shiyu said, she stood up, picked up the water basin, and was about to go downstairs to pour it out. The warm morning light just came in through the window, and the cabin was brightened. Happy talking and laughing in the garden.

Fine dust was flying in the cracks of the sun, and the room became quiet again. Suddenly, Shiyu stopped, and Li Xingzhou was also stunned for a moment, and then the two eyes met
"Old Department of the Forbidden Army."

With a tacit understanding, the two said in unison, a problem seemed to be finally understood, and then there was a bone-piercing chill and a chill down the spine.

"I'm going to find someone." Li Xingzhou said in a hurry, before he had time to pay attention to visiting officials, he immediately walked downstairs.

Shiyu dropped the water basin and ignored those things: "Be careful, I'll go find Fang."

The two hurried downstairs, and Li Xingzhou rushed to the stables, not having time to explain to Gillian and Yue'er who looked surprised.

He took Meixue, and just arrived at the front yard, when He Zhao came in with two people.

Seeing him, He Zhao half-avoided his face, coughed dryly twice, and then said in a low voice: "Ahem, about what happened yesterday, I was indeed a bit reckless after thinking about it, but I still insist on what I said.

Don't get me wrong, I came here today just because I thought we could discuss it again, not."

In the middle of his speech, Li Xingzhou rushed past him in a hurry, and said back: "You go to the main hall and wait for me, we will talk when you come back." There was no one in an instant.

He Zhao opened his mouth in a daze for a long time, his face darkened, and he cursed loudly, then angrily led people to curse and left the palace, and the people in the palace couldn't persuade him at all.
"General, I will be on duty the day after tomorrow after dark. When the time comes, let the brothers come in with a white scarf on their left arm. I will open the city gate and let them go." An old man in his fifties with mostly gray hair Said, the person sitting opposite is Yang Hongzhao.

The two of them were in a deserted small shop, with a few side dishes and two jugs of dirty wine in front of them. It was extremely simple, the light was dim, and a wide river could be seen outside the window, so it looked like it was near the west of the city.

The old man went on to say: "When the time comes, there will be so many people and festive festivals, the streets will definitely be crowded. Let the brothers hide the guys tighter, and it will be easier to get through."

Yang Hongzhao didn't speak, and drank several cups before saying, "I just feel sorry for you."

"Where is the general?" The old man shook his head and said with a wry smile: "The old man has been in the imperial army for more than 20 years, and has fought more than a dozen battles, large and small. Liao people.

What will be the result of decades of messing around in this life?He worked his life to the death, was deducted decades of military pay, couldn't even support himself when he was old, was injured all over his body, couldn't walk when it was cloudy and rainy, and couldn't sleep at night."

The old man also took a sip of the bad wine, bitter and unspeakable: "What about the court, what did the emperor say, what did the scholar say? Every day he said loyalty to the emperor, serving the country, and the country. Hehe, I don't understand what those big men say. I only know It is harder to live than to die now.

In the past, it was just because there was a son who was useless in the family, and they tried their best to live and find a way for him to survive, but now he is fine, and he is dead too. "

"It's all my fault. I took them to the north." Yang Hongzhao said bitterly.

"General, those words need not be said. It has been decades, and everyone understands what this general and that general mean. In the end, it is the emperor's old man's meaning. Who wants to fight if there is no salary? Before I left, I told the incompetent My son, let him fight and run back more often, even if he dies, the court will not be able to pay for his life," the old man said, covering his forehead with his hands.

"For decades, general, the dog emperor has sucked so much blood from his brothers just for his country. We people are old, have nothing, have no one to rely on, and have a big scar on our heads. We are still afraid of the dog emperor." The old man He drank another big glass while talking, and then said: "General, don't think so much, brothers have already wanted to do this, it's not just your business."

Yang Hongzhao said: "I am incompetent. I have been unable to do anything for so many years. I want to speak out but I am afraid of offending the officials. I want to report directly to the emperor but I am afraid that I will be considered dissident. I am such a mother-in-law. I am hesitant. What will happen in the end? It didn't work out."

Yang Hongzhao said with tears in his eyes: "I thought to wait a little longer, and when I had military exploits, I would stand taller, and the emperor might listen to what I said, but in the end, I was defeated repeatedly. I am a useless good-for-nothing!"

As he spoke, he drank several cups in a row, and the old man quickly stopped him: "General! The general is doing his best!

The general doesn't say anything, but we all know that the general's family is dilapidated, and there are not many young guards. All the salaries are used to supplement the military pay of the brothers.

General, I don't blame you. Think about General Zhong Da, the dog emperor didn't even listen to his words, and even General Zhong Da was deposed as a commoner. If the general said what to do, he might be courting death! "

The old man said and held Yang Hongzhao's hand tightly, "General! Brothers don't have any complaints. Everyone is voluntary. We are ordinary people, but we are human beings, and the dog emperor is also human. We are not afraid of death, so bear with it." For the rest of my life, I will see if the dog emperor is afraid of death!"

Li Xingzhou brought more than a dozen nursing homes and Yan Gu, with a pistol hidden in his sleeve, and rushed towards Yang Hongzhao's mansion in a hurry.

He galloped through the city all the way, and soon arrived at Yang Hongzhao's mansion, but no one answered when he knocked on the door. Li Xingzhou asked the nursing home to find a few neighbors to ask, but none of them knew.

He had no choice but to ask some more about Yang Hongzhao's residence, and gradually, a lot of information exceeded his expectations.

For example, the last time he went to Yang Hongzhao's mansion, he saw that his mansion was down and down, and there were basically no servants. He thought it was because he was dismissed and lost his salary after returning to Beijing.

As a result, when I asked the neighbors around, it turned out that the Yang Mansion has always been like this, and it has been like this for several years, so that some of these neighbors don't even know that the top officials of the current dynasty live next to their house.

Li Xingzhou was even more worried. Yang Hongzhao was the commander in front of the palace, but he was a second-rank official with a lot of salary. With all kinds of connections, fawning and gifts, it was impossible for him to be so downcast. So where did his money go? ?
If Yang Hongzhao is really a good general who loves his soldiers like his son, then it would be easy to say, the emperor’s deduction of military pay seems to be done by the commanders and envoys of the three yamen. The soldiers were replenished, although it was a drop in the bucket, but at least a little more.

If it is true, Li Xingzhou's concerns will be further verified.
The words of the poem reminded him that so many people had died in the north, how many more "barefoot" people would be born in the capital and its vicinity. These people had deep grudges against the court and the emperor, not just this time.

Many people have been deducted decades of military pay by the court!This is what is meant by drinking the blood of soldiers.

Now with the addition of tens of thousands of people who died in the great battle in the north, it is even worse. The grievances accumulated over the past ten years or decades may erupt, and the main body of the eruption is the imperial army!

The imperial army is also human, it is impossible to let the horse run and prevent the horse from eating grass, but the emperor did just that.

Li Xingzhou couldn't figure out why Shiyu told him the news before, why Yang Hongzhao actually went to the Prince's Mansion after the news of his victory arrived in the capital instead of begging him.

There is only one possibility, Yang Hongzhao doesn't want to live anymore!He wanted to die, not to live, so he begged the prince, not himself.
(End of this chapter)