Chapter 251 Don’t ask about ghosts and gods, ask the common people
Shaoyangyuan.
Chamberlain Cao Zhen looked at the imperial guards patrolling outside and sighed.
How is this different from house arrest?
Why did the prince end up in such a situation despite his kindness and kindness?
Given his age and experience, he couldn't figure out the reason and could only sulk on his own...
With the idea of out of sight and out of mind, he finished cleaning the front yard and was ready to go back.
At this moment, there was a sudden noise outside.
Cao Zhen looked around and saw a familiar figure striding over, holding an edict in one hand and a banner in the other.
There was a faint voice, and it seemed to be about supervising the country.
Just when Cao Zhen wanted to hear clearly, he saw the imperial guards falling to the ground to receive the order, looking quite frightened.
The man stood out from the crowd and smiled at him: "Servant Cao, please invite the Crown Prince to come and receive the order."
After a while, the prince came out of the palace in surprise. He looked at the visitor, feeling happy and surprised: "Yuanfang, this is..."
Li Yan looked at the prince.
I still remember the first time they met. Apart from the minor twists and turns that the crown prince was haunted, what impressed Li Yan the most was that the prince excitedly called Li Zhi "brother" because the theory of peace was passed.
That year, there was a rain disaster in Guanzhong and the crops were not harvested. The prince implemented a plan to buy grain at a fair price for the people to prevent it before it happened, so that the small-scale disaster was passed smoothly.
From then on, the prince also maintained this policy year after year, even if it would offend others and make his efforts unrewarding.
The prince's actions reflect his character. This person who has been plagued by illness since childhood has compassion that other noble people do not have.
Whether you are treating the servants around you or your subjects, you can always treat them with kindness.
Such a prince should not be imprisoned here and treated like this.
Now is what you deserve: "The Crown Prince accepts the order!"
Due to Li Zhi's lack of strength, the edict was very brief, but every word was of great importance: "The prince supervises the country, handles government affairs, and presides over disaster relief. The internal defense agency should ask Li Yan to hold the banner and assist the prince!"
After the words fell, the prince took the edict in a daze, and the imperial troops watching outside quickly evacuated.
Several commanders entered nervously and prostrated themselves on the ground: "Your Highness, forgive me. Your Highness, forgive me. I am also following orders!"
These imperial guards officers all fell in love with Empress Wu. Although they did not go out of their way to embarrass the prince during this period, they were still very defensive and had already exceeded their due responsibilities.
So when the prince gained power, they were extremely frightened.
The prince didn't care about these people at all. His eyes were slightly red, and his thousands of words turned into one sentence: "Yuanfang, you are finally here!"
Li Yan said: "Your Highness, you look much better than before. Let's go in and talk."
The prince nodded subconsciously: "Okay! Okay!"
When he was in the palace, the prince, who was still in a daze, suddenly said: "I'm going to be a father!"
The crown princess who came up held his arm, a little shy, but also smiled happily: "How can you say this in the first sentence!"
Li Yan said happily: "Congratulations to His Royal Highness, Congratulations to the Crown Princess!"
In history, Li Hong was in poor health and had been married to the princess for several years. He died without even leaving an heir, which was miserable.
Li Hong, who was nursed back to health by Sun Simiao himself, has improved in health. The princess is pregnant and can leave offspring, which is a great comfort to the prince.
As a result, his mental outlook has really improved a lot.
Ever since the three of them vowed to get rid of Wu Minzhi, their relationship was different from the others. The Crown Princess asked directly: "Li Yuanfang, why are you here to deliver the order? What happened?"
Li Yan gave an overview of what happened in the Zichen Palace: "Although His Majesty is ill, he is also concerned about the stability of the country. Let His Majesty supervise the country in order to put an end to the disaster as soon as possible."
The prince was still confused. He really didn't understand that a few days ago, Empress Wu was in charge and he couldn't leave the Shaoyang Courtyard. Why now, it was Empress Wu who was punished and deprived of power, and it was him who was responsible for supervising the country.
But after calming down, the prince immediately asked: "Yuanfang, how is the disaster situation now?"
Li Yan said in a deep voice: "It's extremely serious!"
"The terrain in the pass is difficult, the population is large, and the food supply is insufficient. This natural locust disaster, Chang'an not only failed to deal with the disaster, but also concealed the price of rice, leading to panic..."
"As a result, the victims can no longer wait for food relief from outside the customs. They must open warehouses and release food inside the customs to save their lives as much as possible."
The prince frowned: "But all the counties in the pass have already run out of food. If we open warehouses to put food in..."
Li Yandao: "Let the food from the various counties and high families be distributed!"
The princess's face changed, showing worry.
The prince gritted his teeth and said, "Is this really possible?"
Li Yan said: "I have an immature plan called persuasion."
"Any system must have a reward and punishment measure. It cannot just be taken by force, but it must be admonished."
"Divide the noble families from various places into five levels, encourage them to give different amounts of food to help with disaster relief, and give these noble families corresponding rewards after the disaster."
This method was actually learned from the Song Dynasty.
However, in the Song Dynasty, there were no longer intertwined aristocratic families, only clans and wealthy households.
In addition, the social atmosphere in the Song Dynasty was very important, so whenever there was a disaster, the strategy of persuading people to divide was still effective.
The Tang Dynasty was different. Li Yan added based on the national conditions: "We, the people of the Tang Dynasty, are very competitive. We must strive to be the first in everything, so that we can expand our territory and keep making progress."
"These five equal parts of the aristocratic families should be carefully planned, which can also encourage all ethnic groups to make progress."
"The food donated by the family on the first list must be different from the food donated by the family on the fifth list, otherwise why should it be ranked first?"
The prince thought thoughtfully: "This method is quite strange..."
Li Yan said: "Easier said than done. I don't know how to implement it specifically. I hope Your Highness will make up his mind."
The prince knew that this method was not only for disaster relief, but also for suppressing aristocratic families, so he praised: "Yuan Fang is too humble. This is a strategy to help the world and calm the people, but it will not be implemented in a day, and it may be difficult for the local government to cooperate.
"
Li Yan smiled: "Your Majesty has taken this into consideration for Your Highness. The Queen has also realized that she was deceived by traitors before, and is willing to urge the Jingzhao Wei family, Chang'an Doulu family and other clans to take the lead in releasing grain."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The prince immediately breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good! That's good!"
Li Yan said seriously: "Your Highness, the supervision of the country this time is full of difficulties, and it is even more difficult to retreat. It is no better than before!"
The prince's face changed slightly and he fell silent.
The princess held her husband's hand and felt cold and trembling.
The prince is in poor health, and his hands and feet are always cold, but they are very stable.
But the trembling at this moment revealed the fear in his heart.
Having been born in this environment since childhood, how could the prince not know the danger of this matter?
If you really supervise the country and handle the affairs of the government, if you do it badly, the position of the prince will be difficult to protect.
If it is done very beautifully, it will inevitably arouse the jealousy of the emperor, and even if he retires, it will be difficult to live in peace.
Especially since he not only has a father, but also a mother who shows a strong desire for power and control.
too difficult.
However, after a while, the prince calmed down, took a deep breath and said: "Yuanfang, do you know the meaning of my name?"
Of course Li Yan knew it, so he just cooperated and said: "Your Highness, please teach me."
The prince said: "There is a prophecy in Taoism, which is called 'The old man should rule, and Li Hong should come out.' My father and mother gave me this name with the hope of governing the world and allowing the people to enjoy peace."
The hope is not destined to be like this. As the prince grew up, he gradually recognized himself, and his tone gradually became firmer: "My name is Li Hong. As a prince, there is a disaster in the pass and the people are suffering. How can I escape? I supervise the country to provide disaster relief. How can I escape?"
Who else!"
Li Yan was delighted: "Your Highness, the Holy Ming!"
Perhaps the prince did not have Li Zhi's political tactics, nor did he have the decisiveness of Empress Wu. His ability was not as good as that couple, but he could ask questions about the common people without asking about ghosts and gods.
It is already very rare for a king to be able to shoulder the burden of the country and care about the life and death of his people without seeking to be perfect.
The prince no longer wasted time: "I will immediately convene the ministers to discuss the matter. Yuanfang, you are the assistant minister appointed by my father. You open warehouses to stock food, provide disaster relief and rescue the people, and take hundreds of officials to eat in Luoyang. I need all of them.
Your help!"
Li Yandao: "I have no shirking responsibility!"
The prince held his hand: "Thank you! Thank you very much!"
Li Yan returned his cold but firm hand and said, "I also want to thank Your Highness. You will not disappoint your subjects. Your subjects should support you and rule the prosperous age of the Tang Dynasty together!"
…
at the same time.
The imperial city was boiling.
As a central administrative agency, the Imperial City is often the first to know about matters in the palace.
Especially this time.
Hao Chujun took Yin Zhongyan to the palace to request the deposed queen. I don't know how many people were looking forward to such a big event, and how many people were worried.
After they stayed in the palace for a full three hours, countless people looked forward to it, only to find that these two people were not the protagonists at all, but just messengers.
What came back was earth-shattering news.
Li Yuanfang returned to Beijing, angrily denounced Empress Wu in person, and was punished by a saint!
Empress Wu lost power, and the sage ordered the prince to supervise the country, with Li Yuanfang assisting him!
We must also order the county commanders from all over the pass, the wealthy families in Chang'an, and even their respective monasteries and temples to open rice and grain supplies to provide relief and stabilize the situation!
All kinds of drastic changes can be said to change the day!
The ones who have been hit hardest are undoubtedly the named families such as the Webster family and the Doulu family.
Everyone gathered together immediately, their faces pale, and they looked at each other.
They finally stood up for once, but they lost so completely.
Someone said: "The Queen of Heaven knows our loyalty and will make decisions for us. She forces us to release grain. It really doesn't make sense!"
Wei Chengqing said angrily: "If the queen wants to keep her position now, she will definitely take action on us!"
From the change of title, the attitude has been exposed, and then it was discovered that the six North Gate bachelors were not included in the invitation list at all, and everyone was even more silent.
When they took refuge before, they naturally knew how happy Empress Wu was when she used her thunderous methods to deal with political opponents, and how frightened they were now.
And soon, they discovered that Empress Wu was not the only terrifying opponent.
Doulu Qinwang walked in and said with a bitter look on his face:
"Li Yuanfang has returned to the inner guard. He wants to welcome the envoys back and present prisoners at the city gate to support the prince!"