In the main hall, Li Yan closed his eyes and practiced Kung Fu, while Wan'er and the little prince studied by themselves.
When Qiu Ying walked in, he saw such a harmonious scene and couldn't help but sigh: "Yuanfang, I didn't expect you to accept a disciple. It would be ridiculous if it were anyone else, but these two children you trained are really good among people."
..”
Li Yan smiled and said: "Uncle Qiu is really too generous. I actually didn't teach them anything. They made it on their own! Wan'er, Fu'er, why don't you come forward to greet me?"
Wan'er stepped forward and said sweetly: "Thank you, Grandpa Qiu!"
The little prince followed behind, lowered his head and said: "Grandpa Xie Qiu!"
With a smile on his face, Qiu Ying took out a prepared jade bracelet from his waist: "Wan'er, put it on!"
Then he took off the saber and handed it to the little prince: "Fuer, take it!"
Seeing the two children accepting the gifts, he touched his gray hair and said, "Seeing these juniors makes me feel really old."
Li Yan said: "Why are you so old? Uncle Qiu is still in his prime. When the king's city is captured, won't you also go into battle to kill the enemy?"
Qiu Ying laughed loudly and said very proudly: "Yes, I can still go into battle to kill the enemy. I entered Tuyuhun King's City twice. There are not many people in the army, right?"
Li Yan said: "Uncle Qiu's health is much better than that in Chang'an. Has Master Sun treated you?"
Qiu Ying sighed: "During the time when Sun Zhenren was treating His Majesty and His Royal Highness, I happened to be away from Chang'an. After I went back, Sun Zhenren went into seclusion, and my luck was so poor! Fortunately, Divine Doctor Liu diagnosed my pulse and opened the test.
It takes less medicine and I feel much better after taking it.”
Li Yan said: "Your body is your capital, don't be careless!"
Qiu Ying nodded: "I fought on the battlefield in the past and suffered many injuries. The knife of the Liangzhou thief Xiao quenched the poison. The poison itself is torture enough, and it also brought out my old injuries. If it hadn't been for that
You took care of me along the way and healed my wounds and expelled poisons for my inner energy. I will definitely not be able to return to Chang'an."
Li Yan said: "It's a pity that the internal energy I cultivated is not good at healing injuries. If it were replaced with another internal energy, Uncle Qiu wouldn't be in so much pain."
Qiu Ying paused: "Let's not talk about this anymore. You invited me here this time, not just to introduce two good disciples, right?"
Li Yan smiled: "Of course not, you two go down and practice!"
"yes!"
Wan'er and the little prince stood up, bowed and walked out of the hall.
Li Yan said seriously: "Uncle Qiu, Liangzhou Governor Wei just sent a message that the reason why the army is short of food and grass supply is because the disaster in Guanzhong is extremely serious. A lot of the food in Longyou has been supporting Guanzhong. After a little breather, we can continue to supply food."
.”
Qiu Ying sneered: "He saw that our army had conquered Tuyuhun King's City and could get food on the spot, so he dared to do this. How could a large army go on an expedition and not supply food to the army first, but instead use it for disaster relief?"
Li Yan frowned: "Both of these are very important, but I am very strange. Guanzhong has been short of food in recent years, and His Highness the Crown Prince has already decided on a plan to quell the situation. Why is it so serious this time?"
Qiu Ying lowered his voice and said: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has good intentions, but in recent years there has been no shortage of food. The Guanzhong gentry tolerated it for the first few times, and later began to profit from it. Now the food released by the county government is a drop in the bucket.
Not many problems can be solved.”
Li Yan's eyes flashed with severity: "He deserves to be killed!"
Qiu Ying sighed: "You can't kill them. Whenever a disaster is severe, it is an opportunity for these high-ranking families to enrich their own pockets. No one is immune."
Li Yan knew clearly that this meant that there were many descendants of the Li family in Longxi who were struggling to make a fortune.
He closed his eyes slightly and then asked: "Since the disaster in Guanzhong is serious and food is scarce, why did your Majesty not go to Dongdu this time?"
"Chang'an's demand for grain is too great, but this section of the Yellow River is narrow and full of reefs, making it difficult to transport grain and costing a lot of money by land."
"And the Luoshui River runs through the city in the east, and the waterway transportation is developed. It is the transportation hub of the Grand Canal. Once all the officials go there to eat, the pressure in Guanzhong will be reduced a lot."
Guanzhong is an excellent military location, but in terms of people's livelihood, it is actually not suitable as the capital of a country.
Especially Chang'an, a super big city, with a population of one million in this era has put too much food pressure on Guanzhong.
During this period in history, Guanzhong was also severely affected by the disaster. Li Zhi and Empress Wu took all the civil and military officials to eat in Luoyang, the eastern capital, while the prince stayed in Chang'an.
Not only this time, during Li Zhi's reign, Qixing was in Luoyang, and Wu Zetian spent almost all of the twenty-one years in Luoyang.
Later, Li Longji also went to Luoyang several times before taking new measures on water transportation and solving the food supply problem in Chang'an.
This was not just a recreational activity, it was determined by geographical factors. If he wanted the people to avoid famine, the emperor had to go to Luoyang with all his officials to "beg for food."
After listening to Li Yan's words, Qiu Ying smiled bitterly: "Yuanfang, you see things very clearly, but there is another reason why you didn't go to Dongdu!"
Li Yandao: "Is the political center moving eastward?"
Qiu Ying nodded: "That's right!"
During Wu Zetian's period, fifty-six prime ministers were appointed, and thirty-nine of them were from Guandong.
This is closely related to the fact that the divine capital of Luoyang became the political center of the Tang Dynasty.
Li Yan frowned: "According to Uncle Qiu's opinion, Your Majesty is not going to Luoyang because the political center does not need to move eastward. What is the situation in the DPRK now?"
Qiu Ying showed dissatisfaction: "This year when you were sent as envoys, the court was not at peace. Li Jingxuan resigned as prime minister and Lai Heng joined the cabinet. The Jiangnan gentry became troubled!"
Li Yan raised his eyebrows and said, "Come to serve me in the pavilion?"
Laiheng is from Jiangdu, which is Yangzhou, Jiangsu, where Yang Guang lived.
During the Jiangdu mutiny at the end of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Guang was killed by Yu Wenhuaji. Laiheng's father Laihuer was killed along with his three brothers, leaving only the young him and his brother Laiji.
The elder brother came to Ji and became an official in the court during the Zhenguan period. After Li Zhi ascended the throne, he became prime minister. However, he was exiled and died because he opposed the establishment of Wu Mei as queen.
Now that Lai Heng is appointed as Prime Minister, the Jiangnan nobles will indeed be very happy. They finally have a backbone.
Qiu Ying's words also prove a point: "After Lai Shilang entered the cabinet, he also served as the Minister of Civil Affairs and promoted many Jiangnan officials. There were many opponents in the court, and the daily court meetings were quite lively."
Li Yan felt that the Jiangnan gentry should be treated fairly, but the Guanzhong gentry did not think so. There are only so many official positions and powers. If you have more, I will have less. So why don't you try hard to pinch them?
Political struggle is an eternal topic, and Li Yan knows that it cannot be avoided: "Should we go to Luoyang, we should go to Luoyang. Those Guanzhong gentry do not want to go because the Grand Canal is closely related to the water supply of Jiangnan, and they do not want to be controlled by the Jiangnan gentry.
, but His Majesty should agree!"
Qiu Yingdao: "When I left Chang'an, His Majesty was feeling unwell. He was feeling groggy all day long and could not move."
Li Yan asked: "Where is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"
Qiu Ying said in a low voice: "The prince did indeed submit a request to go to Luoyang for a meal, but his majesty refused. I also know that it is impossible for your majesty to let the prince take all the officials to Luoyang. This is not surprising..."
Li Yan knew it was not strange, but his eyes were still cold.
No matter how bad Li Zhi's health is, can he be worse than the prince?
In this era, the traffic and horses are very tiring. Unless you go down to Jiangdu by boat like Yang Guang, the road will be really uncomfortable.
But if the emperor and officials don't go to Luoyang, the people will feel even worse.
Li Yan said coldly: "The expenses of the gentry and officials will never be reduced because of the disaster. Those who eat salary do not compete with the people for profit, but they compete with the people for food. No wonder this year's disaster is so serious. It turns out that not only
It’s a natural disaster, but also a man-made disaster!”
Qiu Ying's expression changed slightly: "Yuanfang, you must never say this back to Chang'an!"
Li Yan's tone was still cold: "When I was in the Tubo City, I saw refugees everywhere, and I knew that the Gar family seemed to be powerful, but they were in danger of being overthrown by the Manchus! The common people were already suffering enough, at least they had to be given a
The way to survive, what Taizong said, water can carry a boat but also capsize it, have you all forgotten?"
Qiu Ying sighed: "I know you have been poor since you were young and know the sufferings of the people, but these things, alas... they will all be over after a while!"
Li Yan's eyes flashed: "Then I'll wait! By the way, Uncle Qiu, I asked you to check on the old man in the inner guard before. Do you think of any old acquaintances that meet the conditions I mentioned?"
He changed the topic so quickly that Qiu Ying couldn't help but be stunned, his pupils shrank obviously, and he shook his head and said: "Not yet."
After a moment of pause, Qiu Ying asked: "But Yuanfang, why do you think that person is the old man from the inner guard? Who is the assassin?"
Li Yandao: "The identity of the assassin is sensitive. I am still interrogating him. It is extremely difficult for this person to speak, so I have to directly target the gang members behind him."
Qiu Ying asked again: "What does that have to do with the inner guard?"
Li Yandao: "Because the assassin's words and deeds are not only familiar with the inner guard, but also have a considerable fondness for it. We are obviously the enemy and we, why is this so?"
Qiu Ying suddenly realized: "It has only been two years since the Inner Guard was re-established. There is a high possibility that the old Inner Guard is behind this person. Okay, I will pay attention to this matter!"
He breathed a sigh of relief: "Yuanfang, is there anything else?"
Li Yan said: "If nothing happens, I'll see Uncle Qiu off."
After sending him all the way out of the house, Qiu Ying turned around and stared at Li Yan for a moment, opened his mouth, and finally said: "Don't send him away!"
"Uncle Qiu, slow down!"
Li Yan watched Qiu Ying leave without moving for a long time.
Until the two apprentices came behind him.
The little prince said nervously: "Master, although the voice is completely different, the pause rhythm of this Qiuge leader's speech is really like the man who taught me martial arts in Fufeng County. He taught me sword skills at that time, and now
Give me another sword, is this a warning?"
Li Yan patted him on the shoulder: "Don't think too much, I'm here!"
The little prince relaxed.
Wan'er sniffed, with a look of confusion on her face: "Master, this Grandpa Qiu has a strong smell of a palace eunuch!"
Li Yan closed his eyes: "That's right, the mystery is solved. I really don't hope the truth will be like this..."