Chinese New Year

Chapter 1377 Exemplary Figure (Bonus chapter for Alliance Leader Dawn's Caveman)
"I'm heading south," my niece, Xiaolan, said calmly under the plum tree in the courtyard.

She is the granddaughter of the late Grand Commandant Yang Jiong, and she married many years ago.

However, saying "married" might not be entirely accurate, because she had married into the Wu family of Pei County and lived in the southern city. But now she was telling Yang Xianrong that she was going south to Jiangdong, which sounded rather sad, and the expression on her face reflected that.

Unexpectedly, Yang Xianrong remained calm and said, "Go to Wuxing or the counties bordering Xuancheng and Wuxing. I can arrange for someone to look after you."

Xiao Lan's eyes widened in dissatisfaction. "Years ago, you forbade me from marrying His Majesty, and now you're not even speaking up for me. Tonight, I'll sleep with the Emperor and see if I can stay on Mount Tai."

Yang Xianrong glanced at her and sneered, "He's very picky now; he wouldn't even look at someone as beautiful as you."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Lan became even angrier, and then he and Yang Xianrong burst into laughter again.

After a long while, Yang Xianrong smoothed her hair and said, "I did stop you back then. But even without that incident, the Emperor wouldn't have wanted you."

Xiao Lan sighed inwardly. By now, most intelligent people could probably see it, right? The emperor needed the support of powerful families, but he was also wary of them. More than nine years after the founding of the dynasty, his confidence in the face of powerful clans was growing stronger, and his actions were becoming more frequent.

"Then we'll have to leave. Next year, we'll prepare provisions, livestock, and tools, and head south during the winter," Xiao Lan said. "Where would be a suitable place?"

“You could actually stay in the North,” Yang Xianrong said.

Xiao Lan nodded and said, "I'll stay here for now and leave after things become clearer over there. If you mean staying in the North for the long term, then forget it. The Emperor is sharpening his sword, and the Yang family has already been divided into five. They still insist on surveying the land. After the land survey is completed, the land and houses on Mount Tai will definitely be left to my elder brother and nephews."

“If you want to take more land, go to Danyang or Wuhu,” Yang Xianrong said. “You can reclaim as much land as you want. If you don’t want to reclaim land, go to Wuxing or Piling, where you can make a fortune through trade.”

At this point, she pondered for a moment and said, "Although I haven't paid attention to official affairs for a long time, and the Sun family has been managing them, I still know a little bit. This year, a lot of banana fiber cloth and Yixing tea have flowed into the north, and a lot of wild silkworm cocoons from Xuancheng have also been transported here. I heard that Princess Jingfu did the business. She made money in the last few years before wool cloth became popular. She is a very shrewd person, but her vision is a bit small. She only wants to make quick money and doesn't have the perseverance to manage an industry."

Xiao Lan chuckled and said, "There have indeed been quite a few goods transported from the south to the north this year, but it can't be called a lot, can it? The Hu family split into two, one went to Jiangzhou and the other went to Jingzhou, I heard they were trading large timbers. Now, when ships are being built in the north, everyone says that the large timbers from Jiangzhou are the best, and they are offered at very high prices. Even the coffins needed after the elders pass away require good timber from Jiangzhou."

"What bad luck!" Yang Xianrong said disdainfully. "Why does the Hu family always do this kind of business?"

"As long as we can make money, isn't that enough? The Zhang and Lu families in Fanyang are still selling funerary objects this year," Xiao Lan said with a smile. However, her smile quickly faded as she said, "I came south late. I've been discussing this with my uncle these past few days. We've been saying that since some people are transporting goods from the south to the north, then we can also transport goods from the north to the south. Mayi has sand fox fur, which is loved by people in the capital, and people in the south should love it too. However, this alone might not be enough. My uncle's suggestion is to try to find a way in Pingzhou, or perhaps set up a trading post in Lushun and see if we can purchase some from the Prince of Yan."

"As you wish," Yang Xianrong said indifferently. "His Majesty would be pleased to see it happen. If one branch of the Yang family could move to Liaodong, he probably wouldn't mind."

Xiao Lan understood immediately and laughed, “Alas, His Majesty is truly suspicious. Most of the Hu Wu clan has left, and many members of the Wu clan have also left this month. The prominent families of Taishan, Lu, Dongping, Gaoping, Pei, and Qiao prefectures are also avoiding suspicion and not associating with our Yang clan much anymore. With the Emperor’s approval, the Yang clan can persuade all the families to send troops together and gather 10,000 men. Without the Emperor’s approval, we will only have 3,000 men, which is not even as good as some military towns in Hebei.”

Yang Xianrong wrapped her fur coat tighter around herself and said, "Don't try anything with me. I don't care about anything, and I'm too lazy to say anything in the palace."

Xiao Lan sighed helplessly and watched Yang Xianrong leave.

Yang Xianrong soon arrived at a small courtyard and saw Shao Xun drinking tea under the eaves. She smiled and said, "I thought you were just being polite to Elder Yang."

"Why say such harsh things?" Shao Xun said helplessly, "Did the lobbyist get away?"

"Hmm." Yang Xianrong said irritably, "If we don't get rid of them, the 'persuader' will turn into a 'sleeper'."

Shao Xun didn't understand, but he was too lazy to investigate further. He simply said, "It's a trivial matter. Yang Zuyan will handle it. I'm happy to have some peace and quiet."

"You're ruthless enough. You destroyed Murong Yan, defeated Goguryeo, plundered Buyeo, and on the way back you abolished military towns, and now you want to take action against the Yang family." Yang Xianrong said, "Anping, Taiyuan, Chenliu, Luoyang, Taishan, the Yang family has already split up like this, and you're still not at ease? Do you think they're just pretending to split up?"

Shao Xun laughed and said, "Yang Ben is from the Yang family of Chenliu. I've seen him spend most of the year in Mount Tai. It's not entirely wrong to say that he's faked a family division. Why bother? He'll need to settle down and settle down in Hedong, Langya, Mount Tai, Yingchuan and other prefectures sooner or later. Wouldn't it be better to go to Jiangnan and secure a good place first? If we drag things out, we'll lose the good place in the end and still have to settle down and settle down. That would be a huge loss."

"You're so devoted to your children and grandchildren, but what will you do if one of them turns out to be an unfilial son?" Yang Xianrong mocked.

“I wouldn’t be around by then,” Shao Xun said bluntly. “Sit down. It’s freezing cold. Wouldn’t it be better to have a cup of hot tea than to scold me?”

Yang Xianrong had no choice but to sit down, look around, and say, "After my father passed away, he had no son, so this house was given to someone else, and now I don't even recognize it."

Shao Xun gave a perfunctory "hmm" and looked down at the memorial.

Yang Xianrong glanced at it; it was written by Zheng Dong, the prefect of Shazhou. She knew what it was, but wasn't interested and too lazy to say anything more. Wasn't living her own life better than anything else?
"When are you returning to the capital?" After taking a sip of her tea, she frowned and asked, "Where did you get this tea?"

"Dongting," Shao Xun said, "I was originally planning to summon the officials and generals of Xiaqiao and Huainan, but it seems I can't wait and will leave in the next few days."

"Why?" Yang Xianrong asked.

“Wang Yifu is beyond saving, this time he really is beyond saving.” Shao Xun sighed, “I have already sent a letter to Liaodong, asking Hutou to come back.”

Yang Xianrong remained silent.

Wang Yan, an old man who witnessed the Wei, Jin, and Liang dynasties, finally came to his end. Throughout his life, he was subservient and sought only personal gain. During the Jin dynasty, he even arranged for his daughter to divorce Crown Prince Minhuai, but in the end, he did not fare well and became a laughingstock to the world.

He was lucky enough to meet someone who could overlook his shortcomings and only utilize his strengths, which led to his reputation steadily rising after he took office, a reputation that remains to this day.

After he leaves, the Langya Wang clan will probably lose its cohesion and slowly fall apart. This is what the person in front of us wants to see, isn't it?

Wang Yan, Wang Dun, Wang Cheng, Wang Dao, Wang Bin... one by one they passed away. Few members of the Wang family in this generation could shoulder the responsibility. This once large family did not collapse suddenly, but rather disintegrated little by little.

I wonder how Wang Yan is feeling.

There was a moment of silence in the corridor until Yang Man, the Chamberlain, quietly arrived.

"Zu Yan, we've known each other for many years, haven't we?" Shao Xun asked, gesturing for him to sit down.

“When Your Majesty first took charge of Liang County, I arrived there,” Yang Man said.

"Thirty years of friendship have passed," Shao Xun said. "How could I possibly treat you unfairly? After the first month of the lunar calendar, you will take over the position of Minister of the Imperial Secretariat. Liu Han, the Minister of Works, has passed away, and Chu Mouyuan will take over the position. The two of you will hand over the reins during the first month of the lunar calendar."

"Yes." Yang Man replied calmly without saying much.

Shao Xun glanced at him and said, "The Council of State Affairs has been set up and closed several times before. Starting next year, I will make it a permanent institution. You may enter the Council of State Affairs and serve as one of its members."

Yang Man thought to herself that she had previously thought Chu Hui had lost power, but now it seemed that was not necessarily the case. What if he entered the Council of State as Minister of Works?
Since the Han and Wei dynasties, it has been quite common for the Three Dukes to be in charge of the Secretariat.

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your great kindness," Yang Man replied.

"We're all on the same side, so sharing wealth and prosperity is only natural," Shao Xun said with a smile. "How did the talks go?"

“If Your Majesty conducts field surveys at Mount Tai next year, the Yang family will have no choice but to take responsibility,” Yang Man said.

"No need to rush," Shao Xun said in a very considerate manner. "Let's talk about it after the summer and autumn harvests are over."

After saying that, he asked, "Have the gift lists been sent out yet?"

"He gave it to us," Yang Man said. "Everyone was moved to tears, thinking His Majesty was benevolent."

Shao Xun laughed happily.

He took out more than a hundred pieces from the rare treasures sent by the Goguryeo people and distributed them to the Yang family to reward them for their merits in conquering Liaodong. These treasures numbered more than a thousand and were received by Shao Xun after he arrived in Donghai. So he ordered the release of most of the captured Goguryeo nobles and their families.

Despite his dark past, Shao Xun was quite adept at handling public appearances.

Of course, this only applied to the Taishan Yang clan, who were once known as "half the court of Yangs." They were not so polite to the Hebei military towns and the Fangtou Fu family.

Treating people differently based on their status is a consistent tactic of Shao.

By dealing with the Yang family, we set an example, making it much easier to deal with other families later.

"The Yang family has made a great contribution." Shao Xun added, "I will issue an edict soon to grant them 300 hectares of land in Jiangnan and a reward of one million coins to bolster their journey."

"Your Majesty's benevolence is rarely seen throughout history," Yang Man said, tears streaming down her face.

"Of course," Shao Xun waved his hand and smiled.

The emperor and his minister spoke words they did not mean, creating a harmonious atmosphere, which made Yang Xianrong, who was watching from the side, feel like she was going to vomit.

Politics is shameless and dirty.

On the third day of the twelfth lunar month, after having a banquet with local officials and scholars in the southern part of the city, Shao Xun ordered the troops to return to the capital.

There were no delays on the journey, and we arrived in Luoyang around the fifteenth day.

Yes, it's Luoyang.

For reasons unknown, Wang Yan decided to spend the last part of his life at Jingu Garden; perhaps there were things there that he couldn't bear to part with.

In the afternoon, Shao Xun went straight into the Begonia Garden and saw Wang Yan surrounded by his family.

(End of this chapter)