Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4930: Cheng Yaojin: I would rather die than farm in this life!
Cheng Yaojin, along with Niu Jinda and a group of officers from the Zuowuwei Guard, took out the incense table that had been prepared long ago and waited for the emperor's order.

Since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, many rituals and regulations that were abolished during the Southern and Northern Dynasties have been restored, and the system has become more complete. The process for officials to receive imperial edicts is extremely complicated, but at this moment the army is outside and in the barracks, so naturally everything is kept simple.

The eunuch who came to deliver the imperial edict took out the imperial edict and began to read it: "The Emperor, by the Mandate of Heaven, decrees... The Left Guard must immediately withdraw its troops from Fanhe City and return to Guzang for reorganization. They must not act without authorization. General of the Left Guard, Duke Niu Jinda of Langya County, is promoted to General of the Right Guard. He must take up his post immediately, reorganize the troops, defend one side, and serve as a wing for the country. General of the Left Guard, Cheng Yaojin, must stay in Guzang, control Wuwei, and assist the local county government in promoting cotton planting, so as to increase income for the country and benefit the local people..."

By the time the eunuch finished reciting the imperial edict in a rhythmic manner, the entire barracks was silent, without a single noise.

Cheng Yaojin was a little confused. He hesitated for a long time before asking tentatively, "Your Majesty didn't summon me back to the capital?"

The eunuch was almost frightened to death, and quickly rolled up the imperial edict and handed it over: "Please accept the edict, Duke Lu, and then take a good look at it. I didn't read a single word wrong!"

It's scary that you ask this. Are you trying to frame me for falsifying the imperial edict?
Cheng Yaojin took two steps forward, took the imperial edict, turned around and walked under the candlelight, unfolded the edict, and read it word by word.

No one in the tent dared to breathe. The entire Zuo Wuwei wanted to go back to Chang'an to garrison as soon as possible. Cheng Yaojin was even more eager to return home. He thought that although the attack on Fanhe City had not been successful, it had forced the An family to agree to move inland. So now that this matter was settled, he should return to Chang'an... But the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

When Cheng Yaojin is in a bad mood and gets angry, he will bite anyone he catches.

No one dared to congratulate Niu Jinda on his promotion...

After a long time, Cheng Yaojin let out a long breath, rolled up the imperial edict carefully, handed it to his personal soldier and ordered him to keep it.

then……

He looked at the eunuch, took out a large piece of gold from his bosom and stuffed it into his hand, suppressing his anger and asking: "I don't know what happened in the capital, how can there be such an order? I hope the eunuch will tell you the truth, otherwise I will not come in."

The eunuch felt something heavy in his hand, and when he looked down, he saw that it was a piece of gold. He tried to refuse it, but when he looked up, he saw Cheng Yaojin's eyes wide open with murderous intent. He was immediately startled and quickly took the gold. He swallowed his saliva and said carefully, "I heard... I just heard it, so I don't know whether it's true or not... It was the advice of Lord Ying and the Grand Commandant..."

boom!
Cheng Yaojin kicked over the table beside him, breaking the tea set to the ground. His hair and beard were disheveled, and he was furious. He cursed: "Xu Maogong, Fang Er, you are treacherous and slanderous ministers. You are making trouble in front of Your Majesty and making me angry! Fang Er, a young boy, is so frivolous and slanderous. He was actually appointed as the Grand Marshal? Where is justice and fairness? All the nobles in the court are just insects who are in office and have no integrity!"

Niu Jinda quickly stepped forward and grabbed his arm, saying in a deep voice: "Marshal, be careful with your words!"

Not only are you slandering the minister, you are harboring resentment!

Even if His Majesty cannot kill you, do you really want to never return to Chang'an City for the rest of your life?

Shut up now!
Cheng Yaojin shook off Niu Jinda's hand and said angrily, "Be careful what you say! I was thrown into this remote place by them, and I can't even complain? You got what you wanted and rose to prominence, so why are you afraid that I'll implicate you and cause you to lose this job you just got?"

Niu Jinda had fought side by side with him for many years, and they were close and familiar with each other. He knew that this guy had a bad temper, so he quickly turned around and saluted the eunuch: "The New Year is approaching, and the commander misses his family, so he is in a bad mood. I hope the eunuch will not blame you. It must be very tiring to travel all the way. I will arrange for someone to have a good meal and sleep, and then set off for Beijing."

The eunuch was not too confident and said timidly, "Sure, sure."

I turned around and left, not daring to listen to Cheng Yaojin's nonsense...

"Wait a moment!"

A sharp shout came from behind, frightening the eunuch so much that he trembled all over. He stopped involuntarily, turned slowly, and forced a smile: "I wonder if Duke Lu has any other instructions?"

Cheng Yaojin's anger subsided a little, and he frowned, looking puzzled: "Your Majesty asked me to grow cotton in Wuwei... What is this cotton?"

The eunuch said, "It is said that this is a crop that the Anxi Army found in the Western Regions. Gaochang once planted it on a large scale. The Grand Commandant sent it to Sinong Temple for trial planting. They are already familiar with its habits and cultivation methods, so they advised Your Majesty to plant it widely in Hexi and the Western Regions... We don't know the details."

Cheng Yaojin gnashed his teeth as he spoke word by word, "It's Fang Er again. He really wants me to die in this Guzang City! Farming?! How could he come up with such an idea? Damn it! Despicable and shameless, such a sinister villain. I was blind to think he was a good man!"

It is the twelfth lunar month now, and farming has to wait until the spring, and the harvest is in autumn, which means that he cannot go back to Chang'an until at least next autumn...

……

After the eunuch left, Niu Jinda returned to the tent, drove away the other officers, and dug out a jar of wine from under the bed. He tried to find two wine glasses, only to find that they had been broken by Cheng Yaojin...

The two of them sat cross-legged on the carpet, broke the mud seal, and took the jar and drank from it, one sip at a time.

Cheng Yaojin exhaled a breath of alcohol and patted Niu Jinda on the shoulder: "Congratulations, Old Niu. With your merits, you should have been appointed as the general of the Sixteen Guards long ago. Now you finally get your wish! Congratulations!"

He had just lost his temper, and now he realized that he had gone too far. Niu Jinda was his old brother, and the two had fought side by side for many years, swearing to share life and death, and their friendship was closer than that of brothers. It was indeed inappropriate for him to lose his temper now that Niu Jinda had been promoted. It would be bad if Niu Jinda mistakenly thought that he had objections to his promotion, causing a rift between the brothers.

Niu Jinda shook his head, took a sip of wine, and handed the jar to Cheng Yaojin: "Brother, why are you talking about this? It's really boring."

Cheng Yaojin took the jar of wine and took a big gulp. His anger, which had just subsided, flared up again: "Your Majesty, you broke your promise and became fat. You are not like a monarch!"

He cursed Li Ji and Fang Jun, but he knew clearly in his heart that if His Majesty had not gone with the flow and had already had this intention, how could he have agreed to the advice of those two?

Then he said angrily, "You finally got what you wanted this time, and I'm happy for you, but now that you're gone, all the chores will be left to me. How can I have a day or two of leisure time?"

He was most impatient with the mundane affairs. In the past, he had just left them to Niu Jinda to deal with, and he was too lazy to even ask. Now that Niu Jinda was gone, he had to take on all the responsibilities. Naturally, the more he thought about it, the more upset he became... He took a big gulp of wine.

"It's a good opportunity to train Dalang more, which is not a bad thing."

Niu Jinda warned: "As for the cotton, the Marshal must cooperate with Wuwei County to plant it well and don't make any mistakes."

Cheng Yaojin slammed the wine jar on the ground and said angrily, "What the hell! Fang Er can do whatever he wants, why would I care? He wants me, Cheng Yaojin, to farm for him? No way! Even if I don't return to Chang'an in this life, I will never farm!"

Considering that Cheng Yaojin is now one of the few surviving nobles during the Zhenguan period, it would be bad enough for him to be thrown into this Guzang City and not allowed to return to the capital, but he actually has to go farming?

This is simply unreasonable.

Niu Jinda said helplessly: "Marshal, are you confused? These are the seeds that Fang Jun brought back from the Western Regions. The imperial edict also said 'to open up the country and benefit the people'. What does 'open up the country' mean? It must be able to make money!"

"Eh?"

Cheng Yaojin was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized, "That's right! Fang Er, that little thief, is nothing but an unrivaled talent for making money. Since he dares to plant cotton on a large scale in the Western Regions and Hexi, this cotton must be profitable!"

Since the end of the Sui Dynasty, there have been continuous wars in Hexi. The Turks, Tubo, Tuyuhun and others all coveted this fertile land, hoping to seize it and thus control the Silk Road. They took turns to fight and made Hexi a mess, causing its agriculture to decline and its population to plummet. It has not recovered until this time.

There are large tracts of wasteland at the foot of the Qilian Mountains that no one cultivates. If the tens of thousands of soldiers under his command could reclaim some of the wasteland and plant cotton, wouldn't they be able to make a fortune?
His mind suddenly became active, and the words "I would rather die than farm" were immediately thrown out of his mind...

After taking a sip of wine, he felt much better. He squinted at Niu Jinda and asked curiously, "You are not only stubborn, but also as stupid as a bull. How come you are so calm today, and even a little smart?"

If it were someone else, these words would definitely lead to a fight.

However, Niu Jinda had long been accustomed to it. He sighed deliberately and said, "In the past, when I was with you, I was naturally happy to have a spare time with you, a fool, to use your brain. But now that we have been together for many years and are finally going to separate, I don't want to hide my wisdom anymore. It will show up when it is in my pocket."

"Get lost! You old cow will always be a fool in front of me!"

"Okay, okay, I'm an idiot, and you're smart... Anyway, I'm about to take up the post of Right Guard General, so why don't you lend a hand to your old friend?"

"…Why do I feel like you're scolding me? Don't say the word 'wise'!"

"You are really smart. You actually know that I am scolding you."

"Haha, do you want my help? If you do, organize your words well and say something nice for me to hear."

Cheng Yaojin naturally knew what Niu Jinda needed, and began to threaten him with a sneer.

Niu Jinda grunted for a long time, then said helplessly: "You also know that I am not good at talking. I always offend people when I open my mouth. How can I say anything nice? Don't talk about that. Just tell me whether you will help or not!"

Cheng Yaojin handed him the wine jar, put his arm around his shoulder, burped, and waved his hand with great pride: "Need I say more? Can I watch you unable to move an inch in the Right Guard, being controlled by those bastards, and then leaving in disgrace? No matter what you want, as long as it's in the Left Guard, I'll help you gain a foothold in the Right Guard!"

(End of this chapter)