Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 710 Who will benefit?
In the festival hall, all the civil and military officials of Li Zhong came out one after another after another half an hour passed.

Yang Yuan had already returned to the guest room of the Taiwei Mansion where he had lived before, but he sent people to wait for news outside the Jietang.

Upon learning that the meeting was over, Yang Yuan immediately changed into a plain long gown and rushed to the back house.

Yang Fu, Yang Shou and Yang Lu returned to the back house, stroked the coffin and cried. Just as they were wearing mourning clothes with red eyes, Yang Yuan came over.

"uncle!"

When Yang Fu saw Yang Yuan, he could not help but bow down to the ground and cry bitterly.

"Get up, get up quickly!"

After all, Yang Zheng was nice to Yang Yuan. Seeing this scene, Yang Yuan couldn't help but feel sad.

He hurriedly bent down and helped Yang Fu up, then glanced at Mrs. Yang Fu, who was dressed in mourning, and extended his hand to her.

Madam Yang Fu was already standing beside him, holding a mourning belt respectfully. Yang Yuan took it and tied it around his waist.

He looked at the mourning hall that was being hastily built, then went to the prepared spirit tablet, bowed three times, and lit a stick of incense.

Yang Fu said: "Uncle, the mourning hall can be set up tonight, and the officials and gentry of Lizhong should come to pay their respects tomorrow."

Yang Yuan nodded and said, "Yes, I am also from the Yang family. I will be here to take care of Big Brother's affairs."

After hearing this, Yang Fu's uneasy heart was immediately put at ease.

Frankly speaking, he was under the protection of his father, and his father did everything for him.

Now that he was asked to preside over a funeral alone, he felt uneasy, fearing that he might not handle it well.

Yang Yuan was willing to preside over the funeral as a member of the Yang family and welcome mourners on behalf of the Yang family, so he would not abandon the Yang family in the future.

Yang Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Although this happened so suddenly and my eldest brother has passed away two days ago, and relatives and friends from afar have not had time to come to pay their respects, this obituary still needs to be published.

Yang Fu, think about it tomorrow and make sure to send obituaries to all the families who need them, otherwise it will be our Yang family's fault for not fulfilling their duties."

Although he was indeed his uncle, Yang Fu was in his early fifties, with a plump figure, a round face and two rat-like mustaches. It was really hard for Yang Yuan to open his mouth when a young man under thirty years old called him "Fuer".

So I just called him by his name.

Yang Fu agreed respectfully.

Yang Shou stood aside and wanted to tell Yang Yuan immediately that the senior military and political officials of Li Zhong had jointly written a letter to the court, requesting that Yang Yuan be appointed commander-in-chief of all the imperial armies in the central route of Lizhou in order to stabilize the situation in Li Zhong.

However, thinking of what Chen Zhuo said, that the matter should be kept secret from Yang Yuan until the memorial was reported to the court, to prevent Yang Yuan from making three refusal and causing unnecessary trouble, he suppressed the matter.

Among the three men of the Yang family, Yang Lu was the weakest, like a consumptive patient. It was already late at night and Yang Lu was already wilting.

Seeing this, Yang Yuan couldn't help but shake his head slightly: "You three, father and son, take turns to keep watch. Yang Shou goes first, Yang Fu, Yang Lu, you go back and rest."

After that, he could not help but say to Yang Lu: "Everything should be done in moderation. You love wine and sex, and your body is already too weak. You should be more restrained in the future."

Yang Lu has been locked up for so long without any alcohol to drink. Now his hands and feet are shaking, and he urgently needs to drink a few sips of strong liquor to relieve the trembling.

Therefore, when the elder Yang Yuan suggested that they and their son should rest first, Yang Lu wanted to run away.

After hearing what Yang Yuan said, Yang Lu agreed with his words but he disagreed in his heart.

If I can't drink to my heart's content and enjoy beautiful women, then what's the point of living as long as a tortoise?

Yang Yuan also saw that his words were insincere, but as an elder to him, he was at most a distant uncle.

The other person's biological father, Yang Fu, is still here, so it is not his turn to teach other people's son, so he just stopped talking.

……

The Song Dynasty's gold medal was delivered quickly, traveling five hundred miles a day.

However, given the geographical conditions of Sichuan and Xia, in this area, one generally only travels about 400 miles in a day and a night.

There is a post station every 25 miles.

The military cavalry were riding their horses at full speed, with copper bells tied to their horses' necks, which kept ringing.

Twenty-five miles, a good horse can gallop at full speed. At this distance, its horsepower begins to get tired and its speed will slow down.

But, the next post station has arrived.

When the postman in the post station heard the bell, he would send someone on horseback to wait in front of the post station.

The bell sounds of the gold, silver and bronze express couriers are different, and the horses and postmen sent by the post stations are also of different ranks.

When the postman from the previous station arrived, he would immediately hand over the message, just like the baton in a 400-meter relay race, without wasting any time.

Yang Yuan formally submitted a memorial reporting the results of the investigation into the Qiu Pi'er case.

At the same time, he also attached a copy.

Investigating the Qiu Pi'er case was the reason why he was ordered to go to Lizhong.

However, all imperial envoys who went on official business to local areas had the obligation to understand the people's sentiments and the local conditions for the emperor, and they could report to the emperor what they saw, heard and felt.

In the second memorial attached by Yang Yuan, he mentioned the death of Yang Zheng and Pan Hongyue.

The senior military and political officials of Li Zhong would certainly submit a memorial to the imperial court regarding this turmoil, so Yang Yuan did not elaborate on the details of the matter.

He mainly analyzed the reasons for the series of major events in Lizhong, and attached his own suggestions:
Please ask the court to send an experienced general with a high military rank, preferably with a Western Army background, who can control a group of arrogant and fierce generals, to serve as the commander-in-chief of the Lizhou Central Route.

Based on this standard, Yang Yuan directly recommended candidates, with Zhang Jun as the first choice and Yang Cunzhong as the second choice.

If the position of commander-in-chief is not high enough for a high-ranking official, then it would be fine to give him the title of grand marshal.

When the news reached Lin'an, Emperor Zhao Yuan was ill in bed.

He had previously been hit by an iron fist from Lei Yingxing, a doctor of the Ministry of War, on the tower of Zongyang Palace, causing his spleen to fracture.

It’s just that this kind of internal injury is really hard to see from the outside.

In addition, after the emperor returned from Chengdu, there was a backlog of state affairs that had to be decided by him personally.

Zhao Yuan worked hard day and night and did not get enough rest, so the internal injury turned into a hidden illness that he could never recover from.

Now that it was late autumn and the climate had changed, Zhao Yuan's health had deteriorated and he had been resting in bed most of the time. The secret report from the imperial envoy was reported directly to the emperor.

After Zhao Yuan finished seeing the doctor despite his illness, he immediately sent someone to the Council Hall to summon Prince of Jin Zhao Ju, Prime Minister Shen Gai and Wei Liangchen into the inner palace.

Because the emperor was ill and could not recover, Zhao Yu was drafted into the army. Although he was not the regent now, he still stayed in the government hall to help him handle state affairs.

Yang Yuan's secret report was passed around and read by Prince Jin, Prime Minister Shen, and Prime Minister Wei.

Zhao Yuan lay on the couch and asked, "Prince Jin, what do you two gentlemen think?"

Shen Gai said calmly: "Sir, the Western Army really needs to be reorganized. Qiu Pier was murdered in his own mansion by his own woman and a Western Xia spy.

In Nanzheng City, a great general, the commander of an army, was killed by a lieutenant general. This is extremely absurd, which shows the chaos in the management of the Western Army and the audacity of the generals and subordinates, who have no regard for the law. "

Zhao Yu raised his eyebrows and said, "So, isn't this a good opportunity for the court?"

Wei Liangchen pondered and said, "It's just that Zhang Jun is currently in charge of the military reform of the entire Song Dynasty.

Yang Cunzhong suppressed the three yamen and presided over the replenishment and reconstruction of the garrison troops in Lianghuai.

Who should be sent to Lizhong?"

Zhao Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Of these two, one is responsible for the transformation of our Song army, and the other is responsible for the military defense against the Jin people in the north. Both are vital and should not be transferred lightly."

Shen Gai said: "Sir, if the Song Dynasty wants to march north, the most worrying thing is the Western Xia. The biggest obstacle is still the Western Xia. If the Western Xia is not dealt with first, the court cannot fully march north. And if the Western Xia is to be conquered, it is urgent to reorganize the Western Army."

Zhao Yuan said, "Of course I understand. What do you think if we let Shen Xuzhong, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and the Deputy Academician, go to Lizhong?"

Wei Liangchen said hesitantly: "Shen Xuzhong has no military experience. If he goes to Lizhong, I'm afraid it will be difficult to tame the fierce generals of Lizhong."

Shen Xuzhong was a Jinshi during the Xuanhe period, and he rose through the ranks to his current official position.

So even though he was the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, he had never actually led troops for a single day and had never fought in a battle.

It might be possible for such a civil servant to lead military generals in the imperial guards or even in the Lianghuai troops, after all, he was carrying the banner of appointment by the emperor.

But in the Western Army...

The Western Army only recognizes those who can fight and will not fall for this.

Zhao Yu thought for a moment and said, "Then, let Zhang Jun be the Privy Councilor, Shen Xuzhong take over the three yamen, and Yang Cunzhong be given the title of Grand Commandant and go to Lizhong to control the troops?"

Naturally, there are pros and cons to this, the most important of which is an important part of the military reform, namely the Three Yamen Forbidden Guards.

For someone who has never served in the military, it is no problem for him to do some administrative work.

If you let him interfere in too many detailed military affairs, won't he just be deceived and manipulated by his subordinates?

Another thing is that the reconstruction of Lianghuai includes conscription, training, adjustment of military strength, defense, and reconstruction of military towns...

Yang Cunzhong is very familiar with these things, so Shen Xuzhong will take over...

Shen Xuzhong is a very good administrative cadre, but he is really an outsider in these areas.

Everyone was undecided for a moment, and Zhao Yuan struggled to discuss with them for a long time, and he was visibly exhausted.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Yu hurriedly asked his elder brother to rest first, and he and the two prime ministers returned to the Council Hall to discuss further. Once they had a reliable solution, they would come back to ask the emperor for instructions.

Unexpectedly, the next day, a joint memorial from the military and political officials of Li Zhong arrived in Lin'an.

The memorial explained in detail why Pan Hongyue rebelled, how Taiwei Yang was killed, and how they quickly recaptured the city and stabilized the situation in Li Zhong.

Because it was a joint memorial, Chen Zhuosheng took the trouble to mention the contributions of all the signatories.

Among them, the highlights are the contributions of Yang Yuan and Shi Han.

Finally, all the military and political officials in Lizhou Central Route unanimously requested the emperor to appoint Yang Yuan to replace Yang Zheng’s military post and control Lizhou Central Route.

After reading it, Zhao Qu slapped his forehead lightly and said, Wow, why didn’t I think of letting Yang Yuan take on two jobs?

Thanks to the senior civil and military officials in Li for reminding me.

After reading it, Shen Gai frowned slightly, feeling a little uneasy.

Yang Yuan wrote a letter yesterday, with a public-spirited look, asking the court to send a capable official to garrison Li Zhong.

Today, all the civil and military officials in Li unanimously recommended Yang Yuan to the court.

some of……

As a civil official, he had an instinctive sense of vigilance against military generals.

Military generals do not mean only generals who grew up in the army, but refer to all generals who hold military power.

No matter what his background is.

Whether he was a Jinshi or a military man, a royal relative or a eunuch without balls...

No matter what his original identity was, as long as he holds military power and has the capital to rebel, we must guard against him.

What's more, Yang Yuan was in Nanzheng City at the time. Hadn't he and the civil and military officials of Nanzheng discussed how to deal with the aftermath?
Who are we singing the same tune for now?
Wei Liangchen's attitude towards foreign affairs was more radical than Shen Gai's, so he appreciated Yang Yuan more.

Even so, he still felt uneasy.

He also believed that all those who held military power should be on guard against the day when he could no longer control himself.

However, he did not think that Yang Yuan, who had just taken office in Tongchuan Prefecture for a year, had the ability to command his own troops.

What he was worried about was that Yang Yuan was ambitious and thought he could control the troops in Li Zhong and complete the court's plan to reorganize the Western Army more smoothly.

But in reality, they were taken advantage of by those greedy soldiers.

Yang Yuan has too little experience. Can he control those arrogant and powerful generals?
The civil and military officials in Lizhong all supported Yang Yuan. They were probably worried that the court would send an important official whom they could not fool and they would not be able to do whatever they wanted in the future.

With this in mind, Prime Minister Wei Liangchen and Prime Minister Shen Gai reached the same destination through different paths.

They all made up their minds to the same idea: "Yang Yuan, you can't be the leader of Li Zhong at the same time."

(End of this chapter)