Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 131 Wu Shun Pleads for Mercy
At the end of April, it was cloudy and rainy on Tongguan Road.

The rain was not heavy, but it was dripping on the eaves of the car, making people feel inexplicably depressed.

Yan Liben lifted the car curtain, took a look at the falling rain outside, and said with a smile: "This damn rain is really abominable. If it weren't for the rain, we would have been able to return to Beijing at the beginning of the month to report."

Lu Chengqing held a letter in his hand, frowned, and said nothing.

Yan Liben asked, "What's wrong?"

Lu Chengqing said, "The Ministry of Revenue officials sent me a message saying that His Majesty did not agree to our request."

Yan Liben was surprised and asked, "Your Majesty, why didn't you agree? Although the Sanmenxia canal is open, the riverbed is too high. If we don't dredge the river, I'm afraid all our efforts will be in vain."

Lu Chengqing said, "What I mean is that His Majesty disagrees with us mobilizing the people of Hebei, not that he doesn't want us to dredge the river."

Yan Liben said: "If we don't recruit the people of Hebei, where can we recruit them from?"

Lu Chengqing said, "Your Majesty has changed the order to recruit troops from Hedong."

Yan Liben frowned and said, "The population of Hedong is small, and there are many military households. The manpower that can be mobilized is limited, and they are rarely called upon to dredge the Yellow River. They are not skilled either, so I am afraid it will delay the work."

"Hmph, I wonder who suggested this change to Your Majesty. When I return to the capital, I will definitely meet with Your Majesty and present this matter to you."

Lu Chengqing glanced at him and said, "Brother Yan, it's better not to submit a memorial."

"Why?"

Lu Chengqing said slowly, "The letter said that the court changed its policy and set a cap on all the people's menial labor. The people of Hebei have almost completed their menial labor this year, so they have no choice but to recruit people from other places."

Yan Liben's face changed color and he asked, "Who submitted this memorial?"

Lu Chengqing said: "Liu Rengui."

Yan Liben shook his head and sighed, "Isn't this just a foolish idea? If this continues, many future construction projects will take even longer."

He was an official in the Ministry of Works. He was responsible for building Buddhist temples and palaces, and digging canals and bridges. He was very familiar with this area.

Lu Chengqing glanced at him and said, "I think this should be what His Majesty meant."

"Why?"

Lu Chengqing said, "His Majesty has also issued an edict exempting Hebei from taxation for three years. Have you figured out what this means?"

Yan Liben stroked his beard and pondered, "Now that you mention it, I remember something. When I was serving as the envoy for promotions and demotions, I visited Hebei and found that people's livelihood there was indeed much worse than in other places."

Lu Chengqing asked: "Why didn't you say it at the time?"

Yan Liben smiled bitterly and said, "At that time, Zhangsun Wuji was still alive. If I had told him, I would have been exiled to Shu like you."

Lu Chengqing snorted and said, "There's nothing wrong with being exiled to Shu. At least it lets me see with my own eyes how difficult the Shu Road is to travel. This time, when I see you, I'm going to propose to Your Majesty the use of gunpowder to improve the road conditions in Shu."

Yan Liben said, "That's much harder than breaking through Sanmenxia. Sanmenxia only has one dangerous pass, but the Shu Road is full of dangerous passes."

Lu Chengqing said, "We have to do it no matter how difficult it is. We can't finish it in this generation, but there will be others. We can't let our descendants live in fear when they travel along the Shu Road forever, right?"

Yan Liben praised: "Okay, I will submit the memorial with you!"

The carriage traveled for another half an hour before the majestic Chang'an City came into view in front of them.

The rain has stopped.

After the carriage entered the city from Chunming Gate, the two parted ways at the crossroads next to Pingkangfang, and went home to change clothes and take a bath.

We agreed to meet outside the Suzaku Gate in an hour, and then we would meet the emperor together.

Yan Liben returned home and just as he entered the house, he saw a guard rushing out and said anxiously, "Second husband, you are finally back. The old husband...he is dying!"

Yan Liben's face changed drastically, and he ran towards the backyard, asking as he ran, "How could this happen? Is it an emergency? Have you called a doctor?"

Fang Ge said, "My husband's health has been deteriorating since February, and no matter how many famous doctors we consult, it's no use."

"We even consulted that legendary doctor, Sun Simiao. He said that the old man is terminally ill, his internal organs have failed, and no medicine can cure him."

Yan Liben angrily asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Fang Ge said with a sad face, "It was my husband who wouldn't let me."

Yan Liben was stunned.

After he was ordered to go to Sanmenxia, ​​Yan Lide would send someone to deliver a letter to him almost every two or three days, asking about the situation in Sanmenxia, ​​but he never mentioned his own illness in the letter.

So Yan Liben never expected that his brother's health would deteriorate to this extent.

He also understood Yan Lide's intentions.

Yan Lide didn't tell him because he was afraid that after he learned about his illness, he would no longer be able to concentrate on his work, and might even put down his job and rush back home.

When Yan Liben thought of this, he felt both sad and admiring.

He knew that his brother had spent his entire life building various fortifications, and the tombs of two generations of emperors were all built by him.

My brother obviously knew that the end was approaching, and the Sanmenxia fortification would be the last project he left to the Tang Dynasty as the Chief Engineer.

He would not allow any mistakes, so he concealed his illness.

After a while, he arrived at Yan Lide's bedroom. Looking up, he saw Yan Lide lying on the couch, his face dry, his eyes closed, motionless.

Yan Liben shouted, "Brother!"

Yan Lide slowly opened his eyes, turned his head and smiled.

"You're finally back." The voice was barely audible.

Yan Liben rushed to the bedside, grabbed Yan Lide's hand, and choked up, "Brother, since you were seriously ill, why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Yan Lide said weakly, "My health has always been poor. It's not easy for me to survive until today... I specially asked Dr. Sun to help me live for a few more days, just to wait for you to come back..."

Yan Liben wept, "Brother!" Yan Lide suddenly seemed to have a moment of clarity. He firmly grasped Yan Liben's hand and said, "Tell me quickly... What's the situation at Sanmenxia... Can the reef be broken? Is the waterway open?"

Yan Liben nodded vigorously and said loudly, "It's open! Both reefs have been broken, and large ships can now sail through. Once the riverbed is dredged, even the Grand Canal's transshipment ships will be able to pass through!"

Yan Lide smiled slightly and said, "Good, very good. If, in this way... the Saint no longer has to worry about... food..." He tilted his head.

Yan Liben put his hand to his nose and found that Yan Lide had already passed away, but there was still a hint of smile on his face.

……

Lu Chengqing waited outside the Suzaku Gate for more than an hour and finally saw Yan Liben arriving late.

He was about to blame Yan Liben when he noticed something strange in Yan Liben's expression. He hurriedly asked, "Brother Yan, what's wrong with you?"

Yan Liben said in a low voice, "My brother is dead."

Lu Chengqing's face changed drastically. He was silent for a while and said, "Why don't you go back and rest. I will go to see the emperor and tell him about Yan Dajian's matter."

Yan Liben shook his head and said, "No need. Before his death, my brother was still devoted to the public. If I delay my official duties because of him, my brother will blame me."

Lu Chengqing nodded and stopped persuading him.

The two of them passed through the Suzaku Gate and the Chengtian Gate together, and soon arrived outside the Ganlu Palace along the palace road to pass on the message.

After a while, Wang Fusheng came out and said with a smile, "His Majesty has ordered that you two come to the throne."

A quarter of an hour later, Li Zhi walked out of the hall quickly and headed towards the palace gate, followed closely by Yan Liben and Lu Chengqing.

This scene happened to be seen by Zhang Duohai in the distance.

Zhang Duohai originally wanted to see the emperor for something, but seeing that the emperor had a serious expression and walked hurriedly, as if something important was about to happen, he did not dare to go over.

After Li Zhi walked away, he hurried to Ganlu Hall, where he saw Xiaoji sorting out memorials on the imperial desk.

Zhang Duohai waved at him and said, "Xiao Jizi, come here."

Xiaoji walked over and said, "Meeting Young Supervisor Zhang."

Zhang Duohai asked in a low voice, "I just saw the saint hurriedly leaving the hall. Do you know why?"

Xiaoji said, "Eunuch Yan has passed away. His Majesty said he would go to Yan's mansion in person to pay his respects to him."

Zhang Duohai nodded, turned and left Ganlu Hall, and quickly returned to Lizheng Hall.

Inside the hall, Wu Meiniang was changing clothes. Seeing Zhang Duohai coming back alone, she asked, "What's wrong? Is Your Majesty still busy with official business?"

Zhang Duohai said, "Your Highness, Yan Lide has passed away. Your Majesty has gone to Yan's mansion to pay his respects."

Wu Meiniang sighed, "He's only just over sixty. What a pity! Our Tang Dynasty has lost another capable minister."

"Will you wait for His Majesty to return?"

"No need, I'll go to the garden by myself."

Wu Meiniang is now more than three months pregnant, and the imperial physician recommends that she walk around for a while every day.

In addition to the regular court sessions, Li Zhi would come over to accompany her for a walk at this time every day. Since he didn't come today, she sent Zhang Duohai to check on him.

She had just left Lizheng Hall and strolled around Qiumi Garden for a quarter of an hour when Jiang Shanggong came to report that Wu Shun had arrived and had something urgent to discuss with her.

Wu Meiniang ordered: "Let her come directly to the garden."

After a while, Wu Shun came to Qiu Mi Garden, took a look at Wu Meiniang's belly, and said with a smile: "It seems to be a little bigger. It grows really fast. I think this child must be a prince."

Wu Meiniang laughed and said, "Nonsense! Just because a child grows up quickly doesn't necessarily mean he's a son. What's the matter with you coming to see me?"

Wu Shun said, "Hey, don't always treat me like a nuisance. I didn't want to come either. It was my mother who asked me to come."

Madam Yang has returned to the Wu Mansion.

A few days later, Xuanzang would lecture on Buddhism for three days at the Da Ci'en Temple.

Mrs. Yang was a devout Buddhist. Wu Meiniang knew that her mother really wanted to listen to Buddhist lectures, so she asked her mother to return home and stay for a few days.

Wu Meiniang asked, "What instructions did mother give?"

Wu Shun smiled and said, "It's not Wu Yuanqing and the others' business. They're leaving Beijing in three days. Mother meant that it's fine for Wu Yuanqing and Wu Yuanshuang to leave, but it's best for Wu Sansi and Wu Chengsi to stay."

Wu Meiniang raised her eyebrows and said, "Those two guys are going to ask their mother for mercy again, right? Why don't you stop them?"

Wu Shun complained, "I have two children to look after, how can I have the time? Besides, I was thinking it would be better if they stayed."

Wu Meiniang looked at her without saying a word.

Wu Shun smiled and said, "I'm not doing this for myself. Think about it, a Wu Mansion this big needs someone to take care of it, right? I have two children to take care of and my mother to take care of. How can I have time to take care of household affairs?"

Wu Meiniang said in a deep voice, "It's too late for you to say that now. I've already submitted my petition. If I go back on my word, won't I be laughed at by the government and the public?"

Wu Shun sighed, "There's nothing we can do. Minzhi is still young. If guests come and I have to go and greet them, I'm afraid we'll be laughed at."

Wu Meiniang was silent for a while, then said, "There is a way to make them stay."

Wu Shun was overjoyed and said, "Good sister, I knew you had a way."

Wu Meiniang said unhappily, "Just wait for me to say this, right?"

Wu Shun smiled awkwardly and said, "I know you are filial and will definitely not let your mother suffer any injustice."

Wu Meiniang sighed and said, "Go find Yu Zhining. He's a smart man. As long as you ask for mercy, he'll know what I mean and will definitely plead for Wu Sansi and the others."

Wu Shunxi said, "Okay, I'll go now." He turned around and left quickly.

(End of this chapter)