Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Chapter 898 Enfeoffment
"Then how do you plan to handle it?" Cui Yunying asked somewhat dissatisfiedly: "With your current status, if you just want to save money, I'm afraid you will be laughed at by others!"

"Let him laugh!" Wang Wenzuo shook his head nonchalantly: "Just get the job done!"

"You always talk about business, but why do you gather all these children from all over the world here?" Cui Yunying asked carefully.

"Nothing!" Wang Wenzuo smiled, and waited until the maid took the wooden barrel out before whispering, "In recent years, the construction of Hebei and the outside of the Great Wall has made great progress. The children are getting older, and it's time to make arrangements for them!"

Hearing her husband say this, Cui Yunying's heart skipped a beat and she quickly asked, "Arrange? How are you going to arrange it? Have you considered Ah Sheng?"

"Ah Sheng?" Wang Wenzuo frowned. "He's still young, right? What can he do at this age?"

"He's not that young anymore!" Cui Yunying said anxiously, "Yanliang was enthroned as a king right after he was born! Why don't we send him out to be a governor of a state and let him gain some experience first!"

"Okay!" Wang Wenzuo sighed helplessly: "If you insist, that's fine, but you should choose a nearby prefecture in Hebei! It will be safer!"

"Okay!" Seeing that her husband accepted her request, Cui Yunying was secretly happy and her tone softened a lot: "My dear, do you want to make arrangements for Huliang and Yanliang as well?"

"They have already set up their own factions. What else can I do for them?" Wang Wenzuo laughed. "But this time, I want Huliang to do something for me in the court!"

"what's up?"

"I plan to let Yuanbao serve as the governor of Jiaozhou! This has to be approved by the court!" said Wang Wenzuo.

"Governor of Jiaozhou?" Cui Yunying was surprised. "Did I hear correctly? Why did you let Yuanbao go to such a remote place with smoky fog? Did he do something wrong? Did he anger you? Do you want to punish him?"

"Look at what you're saying!" Wang Wenzuo said with a wry smile, "We've been married for so many years, and you don't know who I am? How can you punish the child just because something happens?"

"And you are——?"

"Yuanbao has gained enough experience in the past few years, and the conditions in all aspects are relatively mature. I plan to send troops to the southeast, and Yuanbao will go to serve as a vanguard for my brothers!" Wang Wenzuo laughed and said, "As for the remote and desolate places you mentioned, weren't they desolate and remote when I was in Baekje, Wakoku, and Liaodong? Aren't they also desolate and remote in Sutuo, Yanliang, and Huliang? What achievements can a man achieve if he stays in Chang'an and Luoyang all day long?"

"Ah!" Cui Yunying sighed, "What you said makes sense, but it's a bit harsh on those children! Jiaozhou is a place where criminals and officials are placed, but you sent your own flesh and blood there."

"If we don't send him out and keep him by our side, I'm afraid that in a few years, we will turn swords against each other and kill each other! Since he is a fine horse, he should be let out to gallop, instead of being locked up in a stable and wasting grass!" Wang Wenzuo snorted coldly: "With Ah Sheng like this, do you think he can win over his brothers?"

Cui Yunying was speechless when facing her husband's questioning. She hesitated for a moment and said, "You are right. Since Yuanbao is going to Jiaozhou to be the governor, the position of Cangzhou governor will be vacant. Can we--"

"No!" Wang Wenzuo interrupted his wife without hesitation: "The position of Cangzhou Governor is too important. Ah Sheng has neither merit nor ability, so it is not his turn to be the Governor of Cangzhou!"

"If he is not capable enough, you can appoint a capable deputy to assist him. As for the credit, he is your son after all!" Cui Yunying pleaded.

"I have many sons! We can't set this precedent!" Wang Wenzuo refused. He certainly understood his wife's true intention. As the most important foreign port and trade center in Hebei, Cangzhou's political status in the cities under Wang Wenzuo's jurisdiction is second only to Fanyang. If the tax revenue and economic volume are taken into account, it may even exceed Fanyang. Yuanbao was able to become the governor of Cangzhou not only because he was Wang Wenzuo's son, but also because he himself had made military achievements in pacifying the remnants of the Goguryeo Restoration and the Qi Sibiyu Rebellion. Moreover, when Yuanbao was appointed as the governor of Cangzhou, Cangzhou was still in its infancy, far from the current situation. If Wang Qisheng could be appointed as the governor of Cangzhou without any merit at the age of twelve, similar to the five generations of heirs to the throne serving as the prefect of Kaifeng, it would undoubtedly be announcing to everyone that he was Wang Wenzuo's heir. Wang Wenzuo was of course unwilling to make this political statement, at least not yet.

"Okay! If you don't want to, no one can force you!" Cui Yunying showed obvious disappointment on her face: "Then what are you going to do, Ah Sheng?"

"Yunying, I have said this many times!" Wang Wenzuo said impatiently, "Except Yanliang, none of my sons can be born as kings. It's not that I particularly favor Yanliang, but because his mother is the princess of Japan, and the royal family of Japan has cut off the bloodline. He and his descendants are the only ones in the world who have the bloodline of Amaterasu. As for others, they can only rely on their own abilities and luck. I can't break the wings of others just for Ah Sheng alone!"

"I didn't mean that!" Cui Yunying said anxiously.

"It doesn't matter whether there is one or not!" Wang Wenzuo sighed, "If I do what you said and put Ah Sheng in that position, do you think he can keep it after I die? If you want him to keep it, then you have to place the other brothers in Kyoto, let them enjoy wealth and do nothing, so that they won't threaten Ah Sheng's position. How is this different from clipping their wings?"

"But, but the imperial families have always been like this since ancient times!" Cui Yunying asked, "If not, the brothers will only kill each other and eventually the family will be extinct!"

"Really? What about the feudal lords and the old vassal states of the Western Zhou Dynasty?" Wang Wenzuo sneered.

"Enfeoff the princes? Are you planning to enfeoff all the children?" Cui Yunying finally understood: "Could it be that in Jiaozhou——"

"Not only Jiaozhou, but also places further south and west! The new world discovered by Sutuo, if anyone is willing to go, can also be divided up!" Wang Wenzuo said.

"It's even more remote than Jiaozhou! My husband, are you enfeoffing the princes or exiling them?" Cui Yunying said with a wry smile: "Exiling to Jiaozhou is better than beheading, but you drove your son to such a far place. You men are really harder than iron!"

"During the Western Zhou Dynasty, Yan, Sui, Qi, Lu and other countries were also very far away from Zhou. Didn't Duke Zhou also enfeoff his sons and meritorious officials?" Wang Wenzuo sneered, "Those places also have advantages. They are weak in military force but rich in resources. With the troops I give them, it should not be difficult to conquer them. Besides! If they are far away, there will be no threat to each other. If they are close together, I am afraid that the next generation will attack each other!"

After hearing what Wang Wenzuo said, Cui Yunying also reacted. She was worried all day that after Wang Wenzuo died, those sons who were as fierce as wolves would harm Wang Qisheng. When Wang Wenzuo said that he wanted to drive these sons to the new world and the south of Jiaozhou, which was thousands of miles away from Hebei, wouldn't Hebei belong to her sons? Just as Wang Wenzuo said, once these people were enfeoffed to those places, they would be busy dealing with the surrounding barbarians, so how could they threaten her sons? Thinking of this, she was relieved and smiled, "My husband is right. This method of enfeoffment is indeed wonderful, and it is beyond my reach!"

————————————————————————————

Fanyang City, the meeting place of the Hejian Prince's Palace. Pei Kang was wearing the iron leaf armor of the Iron Guard, just like the statue of the Heavenly King in the temple. "Without the king's order, no one is allowed to interrupt the meeting."

"I am Suta!" Suta wiped his thick beard to the side so that the other party could see his face clearly: "Don't you recognize me?"

"The king said before he came in that he should not be disturbed during the meeting!" Pei Kang answered slowly, as if Sutuo was a fool who could not understand what he had just said.

Master Cao once said that the most powerful person among his father's guards might be this guy - of course, Cao Wenzong himself should be excluded, because this guy never competes with others, and everyone who has fought with him has died. Suta was considering whether to verify whether Master Cao's words were true, when a voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Is it Brother Suda?"

Sutuo turned around and saw a handsome and tall young man standing in front of him. He was about seventeen or eighteen years old, looking at him with surprise. It was Heba Yun, the legitimate son of Heba Yong and also Sutuo's brother-in-law.

"Ayun! Why are you here?" Xu Tuo didn't bother to cause trouble for Pei Kang. He rushed to Heba Yun in two steps and grabbed his arm: "It's been a while since we last met!"

"Yes! The last time we met in Naniwa-kyō was two years ago!" Heba Yun said with a smile, "I haven't seen you for a few years. Your beard has become thicker and thicker. You look like a handsome man!"

"Hahaha!" Suta stroked his beard and said, "Fresh water is scarce and expensive on the ship, so it's inconvenient to shave and wash my face, so I just left it like this. Is Ping okay?"

"Good!" Heba Yun smiled and said, "Last year, I gave birth to my first child, a daughter!"

"Okay, okay, then I'm an uncle!" Suta laughed and said, "It's a pity that I don't have a gift prepared! By the way, you haven't told me why you came to Fanyang!"

"It was Lord Taishan who sent a letter to invite us!" Heba Yun looked a little excited. "I heard that not only me, but also the other lords, and the sons of the generals who followed Lord Taishan in the uprising were also summoned!"

"Is there such a thing?" Suta laughed, "Then I came back at the right time, didn't I?"

"Brother Xutuo, come with me!" Heba Yun pulled Xutuo aside and said, "Have you heard? This time, Lord Taishan summoned us to do something big!"

"Big thing?" Suta laughed, "What big thing? How come I don't know about it, since I'm his biological son?"

"I'm telling the truth!" Heba Yun remembered and said, "Otherwise, why would you invite us all here? Brother Xutuo, I won't hide it from you. I'm the descendant of a criminal. If Lord Taishan issues a military order, I will make achievements and clear the Heba family's reputation even if I die!"

"Ayun, what nonsense are you talking about!" Xu Tuo quickly scolded, "Your father is an old comrade of my father. If you were a criminal, would my father marry A Ping to you?"

"Brother Xutuo, you don't have to explain. I know everything that happened back then!" Heba Yun said, "Lord Taishan's magnanimity is like the deep ocean, but how can I not know what is good for me? If you are in an army this time, please let me lead my troops as the vanguard!" Having said that, he knelt down in front of Xutuo.

"Okay, okay!" Seeing this, Suta could only help him up and sighed, "Why are you doing this? I promise you, but you have to promise me that being a pioneer is a pioneer, but you can't seek death, otherwise what will I do if my sister becomes a widow!"

"Thank you, Brother Xutuo!" Heba Yun stood up and said, "Don't worry, I will never do anything to get myself killed!"

As the two were talking, Di Renjie came out and waved to Xu Tuo: "Glad that you are here, come in with me!"

"Thank you, Mr. Di!" Xutuo bowed and followed Di Renjie into the house. He saw a dozen people sitting at a long table in the house. They were all important ministers and generals under Wang Wenzuo. Hu Liang and Yan Liang were sitting on both sides of the long table, next to Wang Wenzuo. When they saw Xutuo coming in, they nodded and smiled at him.

"My son greets his father!" Suta knelt down and bowed.

"Come closer, let me see!" Wang Wenzuo stood up, looked Suta up and down, patted his thick shoulders, and said with a smile: "Well, what a strong man, you are worthy of being Suta (a strong man in Sanskrit) who discovered a new world!"

"It was all my father's guidance. I was just following his instructions!" Suta said with a smile.

"That's also your ability!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "Since you discovered it, then call that continent Sutuozhou! Thousands of years later, there will still be hundreds of millions of people who remember your name!"

"Shutazhou, I will remember it!" Suta felt excited.

"Let's sit down and talk!" Wang Wenzuo pointed to an empty seat beside the long table and said, "Huaiying! Tell Xu Tuo what we just discussed!"

"As you command!" Di Renjie responded, "Master Xutuo, the Lord summoned us here this time because he intends to enfeoff you, including you masters, and the legitimate sons of us meritorious officials!"

"Enfeoff us?" Sutuo was surprised and turned his eyes to his father who was sitting on the first seat. Wang Wenzuo nodded slightly: "I have been recuperating in Fanyang for the past few years, building equipment and ships, in order to open up another piece of land outside the Tang Dynasty. After Duke Zhou destroyed the Shang Dynasty, he established the Zhou Dynasty outside the Zhou Dynasty, enfeoffed the princes and protected the Zhou Dynasty, so he had the world for 800 years. I also plan to enfeoff you and establish a new Tang Dynasty outside the Tang Dynasty, so that my Tang Dynasty can also survive and prosper like the Zhou Dynasty!"

"Then, where does father plan to give us fiefs?" Suta asked, "If it is the Suta state that I discovered, it is not bad. The area is vast and the land is fertile, but it is a bit desolate! There are not even a few wild people. If we give it to a fiefdom, I am afraid that it will take several generations before we can see anything!"

　Yesterday I saw a reader comment in the discussion area saying that Cui Yunying has been with Wang Wenzuo for so many years and has not been influenced by any of his thoughts. I would like to ask those who have been married for many years, who can influence your wife's thoughts?
　　(End of this chapter)