The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 902 Fairy tales are all lies

In the early morning of this day, the earth was full of afterglow, the colorful clouds in the sky were like blood, and the distant mountains seemed to be covered with a layer of residual red, standing there colorfully.

On the Hutuo water, a light boat sails eastward, the mountains on both sides of the river are undulating, and the peaks and peaks compete for beauty and beauty.

A Confucian scholar in blue shirt stood at the bow of the boat, his hair in a bun was tied with a green belt, and the river wind blew and fell his hair, making him look elegant and dusty.

The boss of the boat came over with bare feet, and saluted such a handsome scribe: "Mr. Lang, if this Hutuo water travels a few miles northward, it will be Baiyangdian Lake in Hu County. The lake is a vast expanse of green, and the waves are rippling. It is very spectacular. Every day When the sun sets in the west, the surface of the lake is shining brightly and is extremely beautiful, would you like to have a look at it, Mr. Lang?"

"No need." The green-clothed scribe smiled slightly: "I have a business to deal with in Zhuojun City, and there is no delay. Let's go to Yongji Canal as soon as possible and go north."

"Here." The boss of the boat saw that he had an extraordinary bearing, and his followers were all cautious in their words and deeds, strictly abiding by the rules, so he knew that his employer was not an ordinary person, so he didn't dare to resign.

The green-clothed scholar looked forward again, with a calm smile on his face.

This handsome scholar in green shirt was Liu Yanke, Shaoqing of Dali at that time. After receiving the order from the court, Liu Yanke left Luoyang immediately and set off for Liaodong.

In order not to reveal his whereabouts, he took a horse-drawn carriage to Zhao County, and then took a boat from Lulu County to the east along the Hutuo River.Although Liu Yanke didn't know why the court suddenly wanted to investigate folk grain prices, he didn't dare to be careless about this mission.

He started at the end of the century, and later passed the imperial examination and became a member of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Wailang. Later, because the imperial court attached great importance to the three laws of punishment, imperialism, and Dali Temple, and had a large law enforcement team, it was only because there were few talents proficient in the law that the supply was in short supply. , self-nominated by officials.Liu Yanke is specialized in the way of law, and seeing the opportunity to choose himself, he recommends himself. Therefore, he transferred from the Ministry of Civil Affairs to Dali Temple. Shaoqing of Dali Temple.

He is very familiar with all kinds of affairs below, and his sense of smell is extremely keen. He doesn't think that the imperial court's vigorous grain inspection operation is just a mildew of the stored grain.

He has tried many cases, and has also read many files of the Civil and Military Dynasties. He knows that hamsters have always existed, especially during the Emperor Wu's period, and incidents of food theft and reselling abound.In order to fight Goguryeo, Emperor Wu conscripted peasants and shipped rice from large warehouses such as Luokou, Huiluo, and Liyang to Zhuojun. However, in July of that year, the lower reaches of the Yellow River flooded and wiped out more than [-] counties.When the imperial court opened the official warehouses and righteous warehouses in various places to help the victims, all the warehouses were empty, and not even a mouse could be seen; at that time, the grain of the several major official warehouses was all in Zhuojun and Beiping, and the imperial court would not be able to produce food for a while. The disaster relief finally caused Wang Bo, Liu Badao, Sun Anzu, Gao Shida, Zhang Jincheng, Dou Jiande, Zhai Rang and others to rebel.If there was food in the official warehouse and the relief was timely, the situation might be another matter.

Liu Yanke is familiar with hamsters' tricks. When the court was vigorously fighting against poverty, he investigated a case in which the then county guard of Loufan tampered with the grain and was beheaded by the court.At that time, the officials' greed for grain money not only raised the grain price higher than the market value, but also reduced the official money. What's worse, they also added bran to the rice harvested in the market, and mixed it with warm water to make it high-quality rice. They are devoid of conscience, they deserve to have their whole family copied.

Most of these large-scale and large-scale grain cases cannot be completed by one or two people. Usually, the local lawless officials, gangsters, and grain merchants cooperate to transport the grain away without any mistakes.That time he made an open and secret investigation, and finally caught the real evidence, and only then did he bring the corrupt officials headed by the prefect of Loufan to justice.

With the experience of handling the case last time, he believed that if Liaodong really had a problem, he would be able to find out a real evidence.

"I heard that the Holy One intends to separate the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Ministry of Imperial Affairs from the three provinces. Like the previous Yushitai, it will be promoted to a three-legal department that is not under the jurisdiction of the three provinces and has a detached status. Therefore, Dali Temple will be able to cooperate with the imperial and criminal departments. Keeping pace with each other, the staffing and rank of officials should be the same; comparing with the current system, Dali Siqing is equivalent to Shangshu, and Shaoqing is equivalent to Minister, and my Shaoqing, who is equivalent to Minister, is naturally stable; Zheng Siqing may be transferred to the Criminal Department. With the eclectic style of employing talents, if he handles a major case, he is very likely to become the leader of a department; right now, it may be a test for himself."

Liu Yanke's thoughts reached this point, and his heart was burning.

"If my ability overwhelms the inspectors from all over the country and eventually becomes the leader of a department, my sister-in-law will be happy for me, Liu Yanke."

Thinking of this, Liu Yanke's eyes became moist.

Liu Yanke is from Pengcheng. He was born in a poor family. His elder brother passed away when he was young. At that time, his family was poor. According to his father's wishes, he planned to let him drop his studies and return home to work in agriculture, but his sister-in-law supported him in studying. It was through hard work and training that Liu Yanke is what he is today.

From childhood to adulthood, he was under the care of his sister-in-law, who helped him grow up step by step. His sister-in-law treated him with great kindness, but when he had a little future, the world was in chaos. Until death, sister-in-law's kindness can't be repaid. In this life, I can only follow my sister-in-law's will, be a good person, be a good official, bring all the criminals in the world to justice, and give the common people a bright future.With his achievements, political achievements, and good reputation, the sister-in-law who helped him become a talent is proud of her.

Just as Liu Yanke was enjoying the turbulent flight, a boat floated down the tributary of Baiyangdian into Hutuoshui. Although the river here is not narrow, but it has been rainy in various places recently, and many rivers have skyrocketed. This tributary is no exception. Under the impact, the small boat drifting down from the tributary was extremely fast, and hit the passenger boat Liu Yanke was on, making a loud 'bang'.

Liu Yanke's passenger boat swayed suddenly in the water, and Liu Yanke on the bow couldn't stand firmly. He flew out like a cloud and fog, and fell on the canopy of the boat that caused the accident like a big toad. The canopies of the bamboo boats were broken one after another, and Liu Yanke disappeared.

Under the dumbstruck of the followers, Liu Yanke, who had fallen into a mess, got up from the mess, and roared furiously: "Who did the good thing?"

Fortunately, there was still a thick layer of waterproof oil paper under the canopy. His weight and impact were supported by the flexible bamboo strips and oil paper, but he didn't suffer any injuries, but his whole head fell dizzy. My heart was beating like a 'plop plop'.

No wonder he was so annoyed.

In order to avoid being hit by a ship coming out of a tributary, the boat boss specially sailed on the south side of Hutuo River, but he never expected that he was still hit.

Hutuo water is in the period of skyrocketing right now, if it is not for falling into the boat that caused the accident, then it will be on the surface of the Taotao water, if the rescue is not in time, he Liu Yanke will become a delicacy in the water, thinking of the consequences, he can't help but feel uncomfortable Shaking involuntarily.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Is your husband okay?"

"What do you think?" Liu Yanke looked back angrily, and found that he had fallen to the stern of the boat that caused the accident, and on board was a beautiful young woman in a light green shirt, who was trembling and struggling to stand up. Slightly revealing a line of light green myrobalan, lightly covering a touch of snow greasy.The black hair is lightly pulled, and a Xiangfei bamboo hairpin is inserted obliquely. The temperament is graceful and graceful, as beautiful as orchids.

In terms of appearance, this young woman is not stunning, but she is well-dressed, with an elegant temperament, and a faint scholarly temperament, which is far more touching the hearts of scholars like Liu Yanke than a goose-nosed, enchanting and charming beauty.

"That's all!" Liu Yanke saw that her face was pale, her beautiful eyes were shy and timid, and her body was trembling even more. She was like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. This kind of soft and timid appearance is the most easy to make people feel pity. Liu Yanke was no exception, his heart softened, and his monstrous anger slowly disappeared.Some who thought they were unlucky stood up straight, shook their clothes, walked past the young woman, and returned to the boat with the help of their attendants.

The boss of the boat was a simple man, seeing that his boat was safe, he didn't take the opportunity to blackmail him, and set off again under Liu Yanke's order.

Liu Yanke looked at the light boat that was slowly starting, and couldn't help smiling. Although this accident almost turned him into a water ghost, he was still intact after all. This heart-pounding encounter was an unexpected joy during a boring trip , Looking back on today's events in the future, or the deepest and best memories in life.

……

Liu Yanke is the Shaoqing of Dali, but he was ordered to go to Liaodong to investigate the price of private grain and the situation of grain purchases by grain merchants. This is not in line with his own job, because this should be the mission of the Imperial Ministry.

The Sui Dynasty implemented the dual system of prefectures and counties at the local level, and formally restored the structure of the Qin Dynasty and the Western Han Dynasty. However, the territory of the Sui Dynasty was too large. Even after Emperor Wen withdrew and merged, there were still 190 counties. Yang Guang After ascending the throne, the Sui Dynasty marched into Yiwu again, and then set up Yiwu County.Immediately after the Sui Dynasty broke through Tuyuhun, the four prefectures of Xihai, Heyuan, Shanshan, and Qiemo were established in its place. county.

As far as Yang Tong is concerned, Baitan, Xing'an, Pegasus, Lushun, Xiangping, Xuantu, and Lelang were successively established in the northeast, and Jiangyuan County was established in the southwest last year. New counties were added, but the northern counties extending northward were very vast. If the territory of Li Yuan in Yizhou and Feng An in Jiaozhou were included, no one could tell how big the Sui Dynasty was now.

As early as Emperor Wen’s period, the imperial court was unable to effectively govern nearly 51 counties at the same time, so it set up two types of temporary agencies between the center and the county. , to take over the military and political affairs of a certain area, and all counties (states) and counties under its jurisdiction are subject to its restraint, and the power of affairs is extremely heavy.The second is based on the General Manager’s Mansion/Capital Governor’s Mansion established during the war, which was in charge of the military and political affairs of several prefectures. When Yang Guang was still the King of Jin, he commanded the chief of the Ninety Routes and led an army of [-] to attack Chen. The Dudu Mansion has too much power, which is not conducive to the stability of the world, so it was abolished and replaced by the Supervision Prefecture to supervise the administration of each county. At that time, there were Jizhou, Yanzhou, Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Yuzhou, Yangzhou, Jingzhou, Liangzhou and Yongzhou. The state, from time to time, appoints a censor to inspect the states. Its duty is to "remove the turbid and promote the clean".

What Liu Yanke is doing now is to monitor what officials in the state do. During Emperor Wu's time, he was sent out as a censor, but now he is sent as a Dali Shaoqing, but he is not surprised. Anyway, there are many new things in the official system of the Great Sui Dynasty. .

For example, the system of prefectures and counties initially imitated the law of nine ranks of officials, and divided counties and counties into nine ranks from upper to lower, and there were differences in the number of officials according to different levels, but after Emperor Wu ascended the throne, it was changed to upper, middle and lower ranks; And when Yang Tong came to Jizhou, everything was classified as one, but now it has returned to the third class.Another example is the Imperial Department, which was originally Yushitai. Later, Yang Tong expanded its authority to all counties and counties, and put it under the supervision of Shangshu Province. ', not only the imperial department will be restored to Yushitai, but even the criminal department will be separated.

There are also the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Armed Forces, and the Ministry of Science. They are also brand new institutions established in the Shengwu Dynasty. Even a woman became a county prince. Fortunately, this woman became a concubine. , Liu Yanke is the daughter of Zheng Renji, who directly reports to her superior, and she is also a county prince, and her title is higher than her father's.

There are so many strange things happening in the official system of the Sui Dynasty. No matter what changes, everyone does not think it is strange. Many times, everyone hopes that the official system of the imperial court will undergo major changes. In this way, maybe they will rise steadily.

Of course, Liu Yanke also has the ambition to rise up, but he is different from those who are lucky. He hopes that he can win a high position with his ability. The official system changed and the superior 'shangshu' was only temporary. After the transition period, he was still replaced by talented people.

One step at a time is the stable way to be an official, and this is also the principle that Liu Yanke pursues.

Although he is from Dali Temple, he is also familiar with the investigation places, and naturally he will not deal with local officials. He wants to go to Liaodong quietly and without trace, and first go to the people to inquire secretly, so as not to be counted in Liaodong. The top and bottom of the county government were concealed and concealed from each other, so he not only traveled as a traveling scholar, but also made a special circle.

The Hutuo River is so fast that at dusk, it finally reaches Tianjin Port where the Lushui River, Juma River and Yongji Canal meet.

Liu Yanke paid the charter fee to the boat boss, and the group found an inn in the setting sun, and lived in a quiet courtyard.

He traveled day and night through wind and rain, and his body was already very tired. After taking a bath and changing clothes, he sat down and thought about the next itinerary.

The sound of the piano is sometimes as slow as a clear spring, sometimes as violent as a waterfall, sometimes as crisp as pearls falling on a jade plate, and sometimes as low as a whisper... Liu Yanke is as intoxicated as he is in the spring breeze.

Liu Yanke is also a person who likes playing the qin. Hearing such superb qin skills at this time, he couldn't help but feel a little happy.

We are all fellow travelers and wanderers far away in a foreign land, so what's the harm in seeing each other?
Liu Yanke was a bit bookish, so he decided to leave the small courtyard and followed the continuous sound of the piano.

The sound of the piano came from the bamboo forest in the inn. Liu Yanke walked along the winding path, the melodious sound of the piano became clearer and clearer, and a slender figure stood out in sight.

The man lowered his eyes and played the piano, Moyu's blue silk was stained with some water, behind the casually draped shoulders, two smears of peach red appeared on the cheeks, obviously it was a beauty's new bath.The graceful neck and collarbone are looming.

Taking a closer look, Liu Yanke couldn't help being stunned.This elegant and dusty woman, who looks like a plum blossom in the forest, is the beautiful young woman on the Hutuo River.

"This……"

Although Liu Yanke had a great feeling in his heart that "where in life do we not meet each other", the other party was a woman after all, it would be impolite to step forward, but she was already close to others, and if she retreated at this time, it would inevitably be suspected of voyeurism.

For a while, it was a dilemma.

At this moment, the sound of the piano suddenly stopped.

The scholarly and beautiful young woman raised her head gracefully, seeing that it was Liu Yanke, her beautiful eyes were also full of surprise, she stood up gracefully, and bowed with a smile: "It's the gentleman on board, my servant is very polite."

"Little lady, that's too polite." Liu Yanke returned the gift without having to make another choice, and heaved a sigh of relief.

………………

All these feelings and scenes fell into the eyes of a young literati in the high pavilion. This man had a handsome face and stood there like a jade tree facing the wind. His name was Lu Renxuan, and he was a descendant of Fan Yang's Lu family.

In this game, Lu Shi was also in the middle of the game. Seeing that the imperial court was moving towards the official positions in various places, Lu Shi also began to prepare, paying close attention to the officials of the Xing, Yu, and Dali Temples. , is under the close surveillance of the major gentry.

Liu Yanke could hide it from the local officials, but he couldn't hide it from Mr. Lu who was very nervous about his going north. Everything fell into Mr. Lu's eyes and ears.

Lu Renxuan glanced at the pair of men and women who "met by chance", frowned and asked: "Is this plan feasible?"

"Back to Mr. Lang, I'm [-]% sure of this strategy." A middle-aged man dressed as a warrior beside him said, "Liu Shaoqing was raised by a widowed wife since childhood. His sister-in-law was from a scholarly family in Pengcheng, named Xu Ying, even He is virtuous and kind. Liu Shaoqing is able to be what he is today, thanks to Xu Ying's merits. As a result, Liu Shaoqing is sincere and filial to his sister-in-law, and respects him like a nobleman. However, when he was admitted to Jinshi and planned to bring his relatives to Yecheng, his family was brutally poisoned by bandits. , the entire family died, and Xu Ying, who was beautiful and dignified, was humiliated to death. Liu Shaoqing was so sad that he hated bandits and bandits. The information obtained is very reliable."

"Also, our people also inquired that the reason why Liu Shaoqing hasn't married so far seems to be related to his sister-in-law; but when he made friends with colleagues and friends, he also went to brothels and Chu houses. Others only asked for beautiful and enchanting female waitresses to drink. Most of the singers and prostitutes Liu Shaoqing chooses are slightly older than him, and they are dignified and look like good housewives."

"It can be seen from this that Liu Shaoqing must have respected and loved his poor and respectable sister-in-law, and fell into a magic barrier and couldn't extricate himself. All his performances in the brothel and Chuguan are actually expressions of sustenance. It belongs to the expression of the selected woman. Temperament and conversation skills are all to his liking, and this woman's name is Xu Ying, so I'm not afraid that she won't fall into the trap."

Lu Renxuan shook his head and sighed: "In this way, this Liu Shaoqing is a poor infatuated person. What we did not only hurt a good official, but also hurt the heart of an infatuated person."

"If he is used by me, Mrs. Lu, then he will not be pitiful. He wants people and wealth..."

"En!" Lu Rensun's eyes flickered, and he nodded imperceptibly. Their Lu family is already one step behind the Zheng family. If Liu Yanke becomes one of their Lu family members, he will be much more important than Shi Yu, the prefect of the Zheng family in Xingyang. After all, Liu Yanke is a person of the center, and he is also a person in charge of the law. His value and role are far beyond that of a local county guard.

He asked again: "If Liu Shaoqing doesn't care about it, and strictly orders officials from all over the place to supervise everyone to cooperate with the investigation of the granary officials, it will be difficult to handle."

"The problem is that we have great skills, and it is impossible to conjure up so much food." The entourage smiled bitterly: "Although we didn't do anything in Youzhou, we did do something in Liaodong. I thought Emperor Shangao It is far away, and Liaodong cannot be found, so the grandpa transferred our grain to support the Zheng family to fill the shortfall in the white horse warehouse; who would have thought that the actions of Jiyin County would cause the price of grain in the Central Plains to soar, and provoke the emperor to go to war. This is all right, Zheng's troubles can't be solved, but our own big problems have popped up..."

Just as he said this, there was a rustling sound in the bamboo grove. A young and strong man came quickly, panting slightly, and handed a letter to Lu Renxuan: "My lord, the letter just sent from Luoyang..."

Lu Renxuan opened it and his expression changed drastically.

"Young master, what happened?"

Lu Renxuan took a deep breath, and said in a deep voice: "Shangshu Liu Zhenghui led a team of imperial censors to go north, probably for food, and Liu Shaoqing, I'm afraid it's just a secret investigation, the real mastermind People, in fact, Liu Zhenghui. This matter is getting more and more difficult."

"Why don't we ask the grandpa for instructions immediately to bring back the food for going south, and protect ourselves first." The attendant suggested nervously.

"Okay, ask the grandpa for instructions immediately."

"Here." The messenger replied, turned around and left.

Lu Renxuan looked at his back, and suddenly called again, "Come back to me."

"My lord?" The messenger was astonished.

Lu Renxuan walked back and forth for a few steps, and said, "Time doesn't wait for me. If we ask for instructions again and again, our grain may have already entered the white horse warehouse."

The attendant said nervously: "Young Master, what should I do?"

Lu Renxuan thought for a while, and said decisively: "Try to get in touch with the fleet and ask them to turn north immediately and transport the grain back to Liaodong City. If the grandpa blames me, I will take care of everything."

The Lu family is too busy to take care of themselves now, how can they care about the life and death of the Zheng family in Xingyang?Even if Grand Duke Lu Yu found out, he would applaud rather than blame.

"Here!" The messenger left quickly, and disappeared into the bamboo forest in the blink of an eye.

"My lord! Since Liu Zhenghui is the person in charge, should the plan here be terminated..." The attendant pointed to Liu Yanke and the young woman Xu Ying who were talking happily, and said with a bitter smile: "If this continues, the subordinates will feel I will accompany my wife and break the army again."

"No need! If beauty can exchange my Lu family for the loyalty of a young minister of Dali Temple, let alone a mere maid, even three or five women of the Lu family are worth it. Follow the plan."

The world is not what it used to be, and the state of the world is tricky.

"Women with five surnames" including "Lu's daughter" are worthless.

"Here."

(End of this chapter)