Prince of Song Dynasty

Chapter 186

After Feng Zan entered Beijing, Zhao Pu, who had long been prejudiced against him, secretly sent someone to stop the luggage he left behind in Tongguan.During the inspection, it was unexpectedly discovered that there were several packages of "gold belt curiosities" that had been wrapped and bundled hidden in the luggage, with a note on it that said "deliver to Liu Xing".

Liu Jia had a humble official position and little-known name. Zhao Pu hadn't even heard of this person at the time.But why did Feng Zan bribe him?After sending someone to inquire, Zhao Pu suddenly realized.It turned out that Liu Jia was also Zhao Guangyi's capable staff member.All of a sudden, Zhao Pu felt the seriousness and complexity of the problem.Feng Zan wanted to make friends with the staff of the Kaifeng Mansion, which not only showed that he did have the problem of "becoming a traitor", but also showed that he intended to take refuge in Zhao Guangyi and act as his henchman.

Zhao Guangyi used nothing more than two methods to win over courtiers and network private parties.One is to treat guests and give gifts, and the other is to intercede for others and absolve them of guilt.Zhao Pu saw this very clearly.At the beginning of Zhao Kuangyin's accession to the throne, several times he wanted to punish those who had opposed him in the past. It was Zhao Guangyi who used his special status and status to mediate and dissuade them politely.

From then on, these people were naturally grateful to Zhao Guangyi and became his followers.

Zhao Pu captured Feng Zan this time, and also seized the opportunity to ruthlessly kill Zhao Guangyi.

Therefore, when dealing with Feng Zan's case, Zhao Pu advocated his execution.However, because Zhao Guangyi invited many ministers to intercede together, and Zhao Kuangyin himself was eager to love talents, Feng Zan was finally pardoned for the death penalty, and he was exiled to Salmonella Island, where the conditions and environment were the worst at that time, where he would suffer the crime without dying.

The case of Feng Zan's exile naturally involved Zhao Guangyi, which was equivalent to Zhao Pu slapping Zhao Guangyi in front of everyone. How could Zhao Guangyi bear this humiliation?Since then, Zhao Guangyi has been looking for opportunities to retaliate, and the open and secret struggle with Zhao Pu has become more and more intense.

In the past few years, Zhao Guangyi had thought about Feng Zan's case several times, and always felt that it was strange. He suspected that someone had informed him, thinking that there was a traitor in his shogunate?He secretly investigated his staff one by one.In the end, there was one person who was really suspicious, and that person was Zuo Buque and Song Qi, the Tutor of Kaifeng Mansion.Zhao Guangyi originally treated this person with "very good courtesy", but this person is from Zhao Pu's hometown and has a close relationship with Zhao Pu.He suspected that this person might have played the role of informing Zhao Pu.So, Zhao Guangyi drove Song Qi out of Kaifeng mansion, out of the capital, and went out to know Longzhou.

Zhao Guangyi still couldn't let go of his hatred for such treatment, and he has been looking for opportunities for more than two years to show Zhao Pu a more powerful look.The case of Huangfu Tong being framed and imprisoned a few days ago, and Lu Yuqing being designed to betray Zhao Pu and join his side made Zhao Guangyi feel bad and feel very relieved these days.

However, he never dreamed that a major case of the Yellow River breach would come out out of thin air, and Zhao Pu would be so ruthless that he would kill and execute his confidants and staff members.

In Prince Jin's mansion, Zhao Guangyi slammed his fist on the table, his heart filled with murderous intent, and his eyes shone coldly.

Old debts were not settled, and new enmity was added, Zhao Guangyi only felt that his internal organs were burning.

"Zhao Pu! You domineering and domineering old donkey, do you really think of this king as a soft persimmon? One day, no! It won't be long, this king will ruin your reputation, get out of here Leave Kaifeng, then turn around and kneel in front of this king, begging me to give you an official." Zhao Guangyi muttered to himself.

"Come here, go and invite Mr. Chen over here." Zhao Guangyi shouted after thinking deeply.

"My lord, Mr. Chen went out early this morning, and the people who secretly followed him came back and reported that they were going to the Red Bat Tower." The butler walked quickly into the door and said with a bow.

"Red Bat Building? What is this place?" Zhao Guangyi asked doubtfully.

"It's a brothel," said the butler.

"Brothel? Why is it called such a name?" Zhao Guangyi said.

The housekeeper hesitated for a moment, and said in an uncertain tone: "It seems that the women in this brothel are all wearing blood bat clothes!"

Zhao Guangyi obviously didn't have much interest in these things, and said, "Tell Han Tong to keep a close eye on Mr. Chen, and report his every move to me at any time."

The housekeeper respectfully said yes.

For more than ten years since the founding of the Song Dynasty, although there has been no chaos, it has not been peaceful. The war has not stopped in these years. The crazy increase in military expenditure and the increasing number of officials have forced the government to collect more taxes.Some corrupt officials made heavy tax burdens fall on a small number of peasants, which made these peasants unbearable. As a result, the people who abandoned their homes and fled, the refugees who turned into bandits, and some even went left and right in broad daylight, looting people's homes, Let the local states and counties be overwhelmed.As for the amateur robbers who wield a hoe to cultivate the land and pick up a knife, there have been one or two incidents every year for more than ten years.

However, there has been no major rebellion since the Sichuan and Shu rebellion.Whenever there is a famine, the imperial court's policy of recruiting elite soldiers from the victims of the disaster has cut off the rebellion with tens of thousands of people and sweeping many states and roads from the root.In the flood in Chanzhou, Zhao Kuangyin immediately ordered the Jingzhuang to be incorporated into soldiers, and at the same time, the refugees were sent separately to the counties and counties near Chanzhou, which avoided major disturbances.At the same time, the troops lost during the Northern Expedition to the Northern Han Dynasty at the beginning of the year were replenished.

A month ago, Ye Chen had issued a notice to all state hospitals in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River Basin in the name of the imperial court to purchase medicines, lime and other medical and epidemic prevention materials.In addition, there were many refugees in the prefectures and counties near Chanzhou, and even Kaifeng and Luoyang.However, whether it is Kaifeng or Luoyang, there is enough food, medicine and government power to resettle the victims.

Although this incident involved a lot of energy from the imperial court, it was considered a major event, but compared with the disaster in the capital, it was not a major event.However, when it comes to families and individuals affected by the disaster, their homes are destroyed and they are displaced, which is undoubtedly a catastrophe.

The resettlement of the victims in Kaifeng is the responsibility of the Kaifeng government. No matter how good his character is, Zhao Guangyi is still very capable. What's more, he doesn't want to be caught by Zhao Pu again because he failed to resettle the victims.The two fought openly and secretly, and with the resolution of the flood disaster in Chanzhou, these days gradually heated up.Beneath the calm surface in Kaifeng City, there is endless murderous intent hidden.

As the flood receded, the victims in Chanzhou also returned to their hometowns and began to rebuild their homes.The most important thing is that as the autumn flood period has passed, the rainfall in Guanzhong, Guanxi, and Hedong in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River has decreased significantly, and the water level of the Yellow River has dropped rapidly and narrowed.It means that the flood in Kaifeng has been completely solved.

The four leaders in Kaifeng got their official positions as they wished. Ye Chen personally took a few embankment envoys and officers, and various measuring and testing tools, to carefully and rigorously test the height and thickness of the four river embankments. , and the degree of firmness, during the period, the heavy gifts secretly sent by the four heads of the line were resolutely returned, and the ranking was extremely fair and impartial. According to what was said before, the four heads of the line were awarded the four official titles.

And Li Junhao, who raised the least number of laborers and built the shortest embankment, also got a ninth-rank official status.It's just that like the four leaders, none of them were dispatched.

This time Kaifeng, and even the entire Song Dynasty, was able to avoid large-scale flood disasters, and Ye Chen contributed a lot.One is to speak out against the great danger.The second is that the whole plan of raising food was provided by him, and he played a vital role in the process.The third is that the construction of the river embankment has turned the world around, directly ensuring that there is no breach in the river embankment in Kaifeng.It directly avoided the turmoil in the capital.

You must know that if Kaifeng is hit by a large-scale disaster, the people will complain and cause turmoil. If you are not careful, it will spread to the whole country and shake the foundation of the country. The consequences will be disastrous.In addition, it also maintained the face of the emperor.In this superstitious era, the capital under the emperor's feet suffered a lot of disasters, and it is easy to be associated with the emperor's immorality.Throughout the dynasties, when such things happened, the emperor often issued a sinful edict, which seriously damaged the majesty and reputation of the emperor.For the emperor of one dynasty, it can be described as a great shame and humiliation.

Ye Chen made such a contribution, which is not much worse than conquering a city by expanding the territory.

Therefore, Ye Chen was confiscated as a Marquis in today's Dachao, and the food township increased by two thousand, but the real fiefdom did not change.It's still the thousand acres in Xiangfu County.

Ye Chen has now changed from Xiangfu Bo to Xiangfuhou.

In front of the mansion, there were nearly 200 people in the mansion. Except for Yu Daoxiang, Bai Canghai, and the ghost doctor, everyone rushed to the door and saw that the old plaque of Xiangfu Bo's Mansion was replaced by the new one of Xiangfu Hou's Mansion. plaque.Everyone gave heartfelt cheers and cheers.It made the neighbors and the people watching the excitement on the side of the road envious for a while.Of course they didn't envy Ye Chen, because the lands were too different, what they envied was the maids and guards in Xiangfuhou's mansion.

The servants in the former Xiangfubo mansion and now the Xiangfuhou mansion have twice the monthly salary of the same servants in the ordinary high-ranking official's meritorious mansion, and the guards are as high as four times.This news has already spread in Kaifeng City, and I don't know how many people want to enter this mansion to do things.But according to Ye Chen's instructions, except for Yu Hao's servant who was inherited at the beginning, no one has entered the mansion.Just kidding, besides him, the master of the house, just a few women, big and small, do they need so many people to serve them?If Ye Chen hadn't considered Yu Qingyan's feelings, and had been kinder in his heart, he would have dismissed some servants and maids and raised more guards!

Luo Yaoshun, Wang Chao, and Cao Wei came to visit one after another, and each dragged a cart of gifts. Knowing Ye Chen's temperament that he always felt that he didn't have enough money, he didn't bring any medicinal materials, brocades, calligraphy and paintings, and the four treasures of the study.A whole piece of jade, a string of pearls, a large piece of agate, Ye Chen was very happy to see it, right? In terms of literary talent, he does not meet the status of a master's disciple, so let him study more and read more books.What displeased Ye Chen the most was that Zhao Dezhao was really a familiar character, relying on his status as the prince to plunder the Ye Mansion.Not only did he take away three sets of mahjong, but he also took half of the more than 40 toothbrushes that Ye Chen had been idle for the day and instructed the craftsmen to research and produce, and more than ten boxes of tooth powder.

(End of this chapter)