In the palace, after the morning court, it was already the end of the Chen hour, but Xie Yan did not leave the palace and return to the palace, but went to the imperial study room to continue the discussion.
In the imperial study, Luo Yun and Su Taifu were sitting on the left and right sides respectively, followed by Prince Ancheng and Wei Changting. As the Minister of the Ministry of Finance, Prince Wei now had a place in front of these important figures in the court.
of.
"During this time, we have the great general and the prince." Xie Yan said solemnly, ignoring Crown Prince Wei very smoothly.
Wei Changting curled his lips and refused to argue with him.
Taifu Su smiled and said: "Your Majesty, you are so polite. I am an old man who has already retired and cannot be of much help. The general and the prince have been working really hard these days."
Luo Yun and Prince Ancheng hurriedly said that Taifu was polite.
Xie Yan said: "The Tutor is highly virtuous and highly respected. With you sitting in the middle of the court, the government and the public will be able to have such peace."
Taifu Su was no longer self-effacing, "My lord, in just a few months, quelled the rebellion in Qingzhou and retreated from the invasion of Gaoyu. This is a great contribution to the peace and stability of the country. It is only because of the hard work of my lord and princess."
Xie Yan waved his hand and did not talk about this topic.
"The king asked a few people to stay here to discuss the follow-up matters of the Qingzhou rebellion." Xie Yan said: "On the way back, the king received news from Gu Jue that all the Yannan rebels had surrendered, and Cao Jie, the eldest son of Cao Mian, was also there.
Yan Nan was captured, I don’t know what they think should be done next.”
There was a moment of silence in the imperial study. After a while, it was Taifu Su who spoke first, "If the Cao family conspires to rebel, everyone in the family will be executed according to the law. It's just..."
Xie Yan said: "Someone asked Taifu to intercede."
Taifu Su sighed softly and said: "There are indeed many people who are not asking for Cao Mian's marriage. They can still distinguish the importance of it. It's just that Cao Mian contributed to Dasheng in those years and I hope that I can give Cao Mian a hand in marriage."
Leave a family behind."
Luo Yundao: "There are many people visiting Luo's house these days."
Prince Ancheng also nodded. Obviously, Prince Ancheng's palace is not idle these days.
Wei Changting raised his eyebrows, as if no one was interceding with him.
It seems that Cao Mian's popularity is really good. If he were someone else, he would hide far away for fear of getting involved with him. Now there are so many people pleading on behalf of the Cao family. It's really amazing.
.
"What do you think, Grand Master?" Xie Yan asked calmly without getting angry.
Taifu Su said: "In my old opinion, not killing people for treason is not enough to shake people's hearts and establish national laws. But the principle of law is nothing more than human feelings. These people who ask for mercy may have ulterior motives, but they are not worried about themselves.
reason."
Wei Changting, who was sitting next to him, couldn't help but said: "Master, if those people are not rebellious, there is nothing to worry about."
Taifu Su shook his head and said: "Since the prince returned to Beijing last year, almost half of the officials in the government and the public have been replaced. Even if those people are seeking their own death, how can they not feel sad when they are in the middle of the situation?"
Taifu Su looked at Xie Yan and said: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, everyone in the Cao family who participated in the conspiracy, even the adults, can be killed. As for the children who are not old enough to dance with a spoon, please allow your Majesty to let them live."
Xie Yan nodded slightly and said, "I will carefully consider what the Grand Tutor said."
Xie Yan understood what Taifu Su meant. Taifu Su, who had served as an official for decades and had experienced two dynasties and several generations of emperors, was naturally not a soft-hearted person.
Since last year, the government and the public have been in turmoil, and too many people have died. If things continue like this, it is inevitable that court officials and even the people will think that Xie Yan is a violent, murderous, unpredictable person. This will be a problem for the future, which will require at least ten more years of regency.
This is not a good thing for Xie Yan.
It is certainly not a good thing for ministers not to be afraid of those in power. But it is also not a good thing for ministers to be too afraid of those in power.
Luo Yun and Prince Ancheng also expressed their agreement with Taifu Su's views.
After talking about the Cao family, he turned to talk about Gao Yu.
When Jiang Guanmu returned to Beijing, he would escort Heruomuti back together, but Xie Yan had no intention of keeping Heruomuti for a long time. But he had to pay attention to methods when releasing people, and Gao Yu was needed to ask for them.
It can be released only after the conditions have been negotiated.
If King Gaoyu refuses to redeem He Ruomudi, then even if they put He Ruomuti back, it may not have much effect.
Xie Yan weighed it up and found that although He Ruomuti was defeated and captured, King Gaoyu now has no better choice and should not give up on He Ruomuti.
After briefly explaining all the important things, Su Taifu Luo Yun and Prince Ancheng stood up to leave. Only Xie Yan and Wei Changting were left in the imperial study.
As soon as the three people left, Wei Changting, who was still upright at first, immediately leaned to the armrest and said with some resentment: "My lord, you are happy outside. Do you know what kind of life I lived in Shangyong?"
Xie Yan raised his eyebrows slightly, and Wei Changting said angrily: "You are invincible on the battlefield, invincible. Where do you get the food, grass and money from? Do you know that the national treasury is running out of money?"
Xie Yan said: "Don't worry, the money to suppress the rebellion should not be paid by the court."
"Oh" Wei Changting immediately became happy when he heard this, "Where did you get the money?"
At the same time, he felt sad for himself, thinking that he was a Confucian general, but in just a few months, he felt like he wanted to get into money. He felt that his whole body was full of the smell of money, but he was extremely poor.
Xie Yan said: "In Yingzhou, the Cao family should be able to get a lot of money, and there is also a lot of money in Wanhu City this time. If Jinyan and Lingchuan Marquis can wipe out Luanyi Division in southern Xinjiang, they should be able to do it again."
It’s a lot of money, but the court doesn’t have to worry about the pay of the troops stationed in the south in the past two years.”
Wei Changting lowered his head and calculated, and immediately became happy.
"Indeed, so when dynasties were short of money, it made sense to grab a few outstanding ones and kill them."
Xie Yan glanced at him and said: "If you have time to think about this, why not think about how to increase revenue and reduce expenditure. This kind of thing only happens once, and it won't last long."
Wei Changting suddenly thought of the empty treasury and once again thought of resigning.
"What's the situation over there with Ji Rong?" Xie Yan asked.
Wei Changting said sternly: "Calculating the schedule, he hasn't come out of seclusion yet. Do you think Ji Rong can beat Ji Zhan and Bai Jingrong?" Anyway, Wei Changting is not optimistic. If Ji Rong has the ability to beat Ji Zhan and Bai Jingrong,
Then they won't be sent as protons.
Xie Yan said: "If you think he is not good, it is because no one has given him a chance. In terms of scheming, Ji Rong may not be worse than Bai Jingrong."
Or it should be said that Bai Jingrong was too smooth and didn't take Ji Rong's son seriously.
Wei Changting shrugged and said, "It's okay if you think it's okay. I'm just reminding you that it will be very embarrassing if Bai Jingrong ruins your plan."
Xie Yan said calmly: "It was not my plan. Even if it fails, it is not a shame. We can no longer use troops outside in the past few years, but we cannot let the Qi people take their time to look for trouble."
Wei Changting said: "The Qi people will not dare to challenge Da Sheng for a while."
"The nomadic tribes outside the Great Wall are different from those in the Central Plains." Xie Yan said: "As long as they regain their vitality a little, they will have the ability to invade the border again."
Wei Changting nodded and said, "I kind of understand the intention."
Let the Qi people have internal chaos and give Dasheng a few years to recuperate. When the Central Plains recovers, they can then take the initiative to annihilate the Qi people in one fell swoop or drive them further away.
