Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 714: Li Zhong’s New Master
The news of Mrs. Xu's suicide reached Yang Yuan's ears that night.

At this time, Yang Fusan and his son were having dinner with their uncle.

"Tell the Qiu family to collect the bodies themselves."

Yang Yuan didn't seem surprised at all: "Return the Qiu family's property to them, and let them carry the coffin back to their hometown by themselves."

The guard agreed and came back soon: "General, the Qiu family refused to collect Madam Xu's body, saying that they would leave it to the government to deal with."

Yang Yuan was stunned: "What did Qiu Dingjun say?"

"Qiu Dingjun was the most indignant. He said that Xu was not worthy of being worshipped by the Qiu family's descendants, and was not worthy of being buried in the Qiu family's ancestral tomb. His body should be left exposed in the wilderness and eaten by wild dogs to atone for his sins."

At this time, Yang Yuan had finished his dinner and was having tea in the flower hall accompanied by Yang Fu.

After hearing the guard's words, Yang Yuan smiled, but the smile did not reach his eyes, which seemed a little cold.

It is normal for the Qiu family and others to react like this.

But...Qiu Dingjun, what qualifications does he have to say that?

"Then... buy a thin coffin and find a place to bury him on a nearby wild mountain. There's no need to erect a tombstone."

The guard agreed, clasped his fists and left.

Yang Yuan then instructed Yang Fu, "The imperial edict has come down. Just carve a stele and erect a monument according to the honorific title and posthumous name that the imperial court has given to your father. You are the son of a man, so you should do it."

Yang Fu quickly stood up and bowed his head, saying, "Yes, I will report to you after I have finished my work."

At this time, Yang Fu already knew that Yang Yuan would succeed his father as the commander-in-chief of the imperial troops in the central route of Lizhou.

Yang Yuan just told him.

Once Yang Yuan becomes the commander-in-chief of the Lizhong Front Army and the supreme commander of the Lizhou Central Military Government, he can continue his current life without worries.

He will recognize this uncle no matter what, he has made up his mind!

Now, the only two people who know the truth that Yang Yuan has nothing to do with the Yang family in Lizhong are Chen Zhuoguang and him.

However, the family tree has been recorded and acknowledged by Yang Zheng himself.

Even if he and Chen Zhuoguang came out to testify now, it would be difficult to overturn this conclusion.

What's more, he would never be stupid enough to push away this big thick leg himself.

I believe that Secretary Chen has the same idea as him.

This secret will rot in their stomachs forever.

Yang Fu was well aware that he was cowardly and had severe diabetes. He was over fifty years old and there was no way he would achieve anything.

But he is blessed!
The biological father of the towering tree died, and soon an uncle of the towering tree appeared.

Others work hard all their lives, risking their lives. Can they have such a good life as he does?

Yang Fu stepped back, and Yang Yuan sat quietly for a moment, his expression gradually becoming cold.

"Somebody come!"

The guard outside the door responded and came in.

Among Yang Yuan's thirty-six personal guards, the four closest ones were transferred from the "Tongzhou Club" and arranged in the army.

If Yang Yuan wanted to greet Liu Dazhuang, he would just call him "Dazhuang". If he shouted "Come here", he was greeting his guards.

Da Zhuang and the guards standing outside the door were already aware of the difference.

A guard from the same boat immediately walked into the flower hall.

Yang Yuan beckoned him over and whispered, "Tomorrow, let the Qiu family leave. When they leave Nanzheng, kill Qiu Dingjun!"

The guard clasped his fists and left.

How to kill him? Set up a tea stall on the road and poison him. Or arrange for someone to shoot him with arrows on the roadside. Or pretend to be a bandit and attack the Qiu family's convoy and kill him on the battlefield. These are not things Yang Yuan needs to consider personally.

He just needs to state a purpose, just one result.

Qiu Dingjun deserved death for his crime.

Mrs. Xu agreed to ask Yang Yuan for a way out for her son who was also involved in the conspiracy in exchange for confessing everything and taking sole responsibility for everything.

Yang Yuan agreed.

But now that Qiu Dingjun has chosen not to be Madam Xu's son, he can die.

……

Shi Han is here.

Yang Yuan originally wanted to send someone to invite Shi Han.

The court appointed him to succeed Yang Zheng and to be in charge of the affairs of Tongchuan Road and Lizhou Central Road. He wanted to first communicate with this veteran general of Lizhong, the number one person under Yang Zheng, and the two of them would discuss it before deciding how to make it public.

Unexpectedly, before he sent anyone to invite him, Shi Han arrived first.

Could it be that Shi Han had spies in the Taiwei Mansion and heard something first?
Yang Yuan immediately dismissed the idea. Regarding his appointment, he had only told Yang Fu, and that was just now.

There was no way Shi Han could know so quickly.

If Shi Han had some spies in Beijing who knew about such a high-level appointment in advance, then this person would be too scary.

However, Yang Yuan found that he was overthinking.

Shi Han didn't know anything, he just came to visit because Yang Yuan opened the door to welcome guests today.

Moreover, Yang Yuan invited him to the study, and just after he had a cup of tea, Liu Ruxi came.

After a while, Chen Zhuoguang, Gao Gan, Zhou Wuyi and others also came.

Yang Yuan found that these people were very respectful to him. Considering his status and position, it was not surprising that these people were respectful to him.

But... as high-ranking military and political figures in Lizhong, don’t they have anything to do every day?

What's going on with this attitude that seems like it's asking for instructions and reporting to me?
Yang Yuan was somewhat confused, but since these people had already arrived, there was no need to conceal the emperor's edict.

Although they did not know the content of the imperial edict, a golden express delivered it yesterday, and this matter could not be hidden from these local tyrants.

Yang Yuan then stood up and said solemnly: "I have something to discuss, and I would like to first invite General Shi to come and talk to you, and then invite all the civil and military officials to come.

Now that everyone is here, let’s be frank and make an announcement in public.”

Yang Yuan took out the secret decree written on yellow silk from his sleeve, held it high in his hand, and said in a deep voice: "Here is the emperor's decree."

Shi Han and the others had actually anticipated this. What they were worried about now was that they were not sure whether the emperor would agree to their joint recommendation.

The old ministers in the court who can control them now are first Zhang Jun, then Yang Cunzhong, and then Liu Qi.

No matter which one of them comes, I'm afraid none of them will be as easy to control as Yang Yuan.

However, Zhang Jun and Yang Cun Zhong both played important roles in the court, and they would not be easily sent to Sichuan and Xia to serve as the commander-in-chief.

As for Liu Qi, he was stripped of his military post and served as a local prefect for many years.

Moreover, his original position in the army was not as high as that of Zhang Jun and Yang Cunzhong, and he had been away from the army for many years, so he was probably not the most suitable candidate.

Although they thought so in their hearts, the civil and military officials were still inevitably nervous. When they heard Yang Yuan say that the "Emperor's Edict" was here, they couldn't help but feel nervous.

Shi Han was the first to stand up from his seat, bowed his hands and lowered his head solemnly.

Zhou Wuyi, Chen Zhuoguang and others also stood up and did the same thing as Shi Han.

Yang Yuan opened the secret decree, read it word by word, and handed it to Shi Han.

Shi Han took it with both hands and unfolded it, and the other civil and military officials gathered around. After reading the imperial edict, the civil and military officials all showed joy on their faces, hurriedly returned the imperial edict, and then bowed down together.

Shi Han was the first to speak: "Shi Han, the first commander of the cavalry of the imperial army stationed in Xingyuan Prefecture, pays homage to the commander-in-chief!"

The rest of the civil and military officials saluted solemnly and called out their names.

Yang Yuan held his hands up and said politely, "Please stand up, everyone. The situation in Lizhong will still depend on you. I hope you can help me and work with me to stabilize the situation in Lizhong."

Shi Han and others were very happy. Everything went as they wished. Li Zhong would not be incorporated into the Wu family army, and everyone's future was stable.

Yang Yuan holds two positions and is young and inexperienced, so everyone has an easier time under him than under Yang Zheng. Good days are coming.

As a result, all the civil and military officials expressed their loyalty one after another, and the atmosphere was truly harmonious.

Yang Yuan had worked in the workplace in his previous life and in the government in this life, so he was no longer a young boy.

Naturally, he would not wishfully think that he had already won over these old civil and military officials who had been immersed in the officialdom for half their lives.

Their welcome to me was obviously sincere.

But this is the result of extremely complex calculations of interests, trade-offs and compromises.

Yang Yuan still has a long way to go before he can truly conquer them.

But it's a good start now, isn't it?

These people are the foundation of power in Lizhou Central Road. In the future, they will be included in Yang Yuan’s own game of interests of forming alliances and forming coalitions.

Any deduction and planning for the future must take this group into consideration.

Show them kindness and exercise authority over them, and use both kindness and authority. Only then can you truly turn them into part of your own organization that you can use at your will.

As everyone was chatting, Nanzheng prefect Kong Jitao hurriedly finished his urgent official business and ran to the Taiwei Mansion.

Upon learning that Yang Yuan had been appointed as the leader of Lizhong, and receiving the looks from Chen Zhuoguang and others, Prefect Kong was immediately filled with surprise and said, "Great! Great! Your Majesty is good at accepting honest advice, and indeed accepted the pleas of our civil and military officials in Lizhong, and let General Yang take charge of both the military and political affairs of Lizhong. This is truly a stroke of luck."

"what?"

Yang Yuan was startled: "What does Lord Kong mean by this?"

So, Prefect Kong told Yang Yuan how they decided to support Yang Yuan and how they jointly submitted a memorial to the court.

Finally, Prefect Kong suddenly realized that he had spoken out of turn, and said in annoyance, "Why, gentlemen...did you know that you didn't report this to the commander?"

Shi Han and others immediately expressed their opinions, saying that they were all acting out of public interest, for the sake of the Song Dynasty, and for the sake of profit, so there was no need to seek favor from the commander-in-chief...

Yang Yuan knew that he was given the concurrent post of head of Li Zhong because the civil and military officials of Li Zhong had petitioned to retain him, and for a moment he became more friendly to them.

At this time, all the officials gathered together in harmony, just like a group of close friends who were confiding in each other.

Yang Yuan smiled, but cursed in his heart: "It turned out that it was because of you that the emperor let me take charge of the military and political affairs of Lizhou."

A group of old officials who have only focused on Lizhong for many years have completely lost their minds!

No one is as deceiving as you, bastards!

How will the government view me if you do this?

Even if I am the official's brother, there is no reason for the official to trust me unconditionally!
It would be strange if the government didn't suspect that I was the one who instigated you to do this.

Civilian officials can lead troops, fight wars, and own territories, so they are even more terrifying than pure military generals, right?
If I were the emperor, I would also be on guard against such people.

Good thing...

Forget it. At worst, I can just drink more wine, watch more dancing, acquire more farmland and mansions, be more greedy for money and good things, and indulge in sensual pleasures, just to give the government some reassurance.

However, if he wants to indulge in wine and women, he has to wait until he returns to Tongchuan.

General Yang's body was still warm, so he didn't even mention indulging in wine and women in Yang Zheng's old house.

Even if we hold a banquet today and celebrate with all the civil and military officials that he has assumed control of the military and political power in Lizhong, it would not be appropriate.

All the civil and military officials also understood that it was not appropriate for Yang Yuan to engage in social activities at this time.

They agreed with Yang Yuan that they would post a notice today to announce the court's appointment of Yang Yuan to the public.

At the same time, a written document should be sent to inform the civil and military officials in various places in Lizhong of this appointment.

Five days later, Yang Yuan will hold a "grand ceremony" in the Jitang of the Taiwei Mansion in Nanzheng to receive audiences from all the important military and political officials in Lizhong.

And tomorrow, Yang Yuan will first go to inspect the troops stationed in Nanzheng City.

In a place like this with a strong military government flavor, it is only natural to disclose your identity to the military first.

After the discussion, all the civil and military officials said goodbye and left.

Yang Yuan calmed down, thought for a while, and decided to focus his current business on Tongchuan Road.

As for Li Zhong, he certainly can't be without any of his own.

Lu You, currently the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Rites, could be brought to Lizhong to serve as a civil official.

Chen Zhuoguang needs to be promoted.

Although the position of secretary is of low rank but has great power, it can be handed over to Lu You, who can first serve as Chen Zhuoguang's deputy.

As for the army, we have to secretly add some sand, and Yang Wanli is the most suitable person.

Yang Wanli is currently the Deputy Director of the Ministry of War, but the Ministry of War is only responsible for logistics and military affairs.

If he were transferred to Lizhong, with his current qualifications, he would not pose any threat to the generals in Lizhong and it would be relatively easy for him to integrate into the team.

As for Yu Yunwen and Fan Chengda.

Yu Yunwen is currently serving as the deputy secretary of the Privy Council, and is in charge of the Privy Council's Military Affairs Department, in charge of matters such as longitude defense, guarding border fortresses, and military equipment.

This position is quite important.

Fan Chengda was currently the storyteller in Chongzheng Hall, an advisor who explained the classics to the emperor and was a person close to the emperor.

Therefore, these two friends cannot be moved.

It’s easy to be an official if you have connections in the court!

Yang Yuan had made up his mind, and immediately wrote a secret memorial to the emperor, asking him for a few capable helpers to help him.

Yang Yuan had just started talking, and before he could figure out how to phrase it, Liu Dazhuang came to report, "Master, a young master named Yang from the Dali Kingdom has come to ask for an audience, bringing a valuable gift."

"Dali Kingdom?"

The fact that they came all the way from Dali Kingdom aroused Yang Yuan's curiosity.

Yang Yuan put away the unfinished memorial and instructed, "Please ask him to wait for tea in the front study. I will go to see him after I change my clothes."

Liu Dazhuang agreed and walked out.

At this time, in the west wing of the Taiwei Mansion, Fan Qing knocked out a servant in green clothes and a small hat and dragged him into the woodshed.

Soon, a handsome servant in green clothes and a small hat came out of the woodshed with a big broom.

Fan Qing, who was dressed as a servant, tugged at his collar and thought with some pride, "Sure enough, the defenses of the Taiwei Mansion will be more lax during the day.

I will do the opposite, and my chances of success will be greater.”

She pulled out part of the inner core of the broom, stuffed the vajra into it and tied it tightly again.

If no one picks it up and feels the weight is wrong, it would be hard to tell what's going on for a while.

Fan Qing adjusted the small hat on his head, then sneaked towards the main courtyard with a big broom in his arms.

(End of this chapter)