Shen Yang came to Beijing to become the prime minister, and Emperor Yanyou gave Shen Yang the well-preserved Wen Mansion as the prime minister's residence.
Since the previous dynasty, "Kaifu Yitong Sansi" has been the highest official rank for civil servants. It is more of a symbol of honor and status. In fact, except for princes and princes, no princes or ministers have opened official offices for private affairs. power.
However, as the prime minister of Chu, it was impossible for Shen Yang to be alone.
Too many military and political affairs sprung up from the six ministries, departments, prefectures and counties, and were brought together to him. After he discussed them with the ministers of the political affairs hall, he would then report them to His Majesty for his decision.
Without a large team of staff or secretaries, Shen Yang and the limited number of high-ranking assistants in the Zhengshi Hall could drown them out with so many memorials.
The total number of slaves Shen Yang received before and after the reward was over a hundred households, but most of them were arranged to work in the farms where they were rewarded. He had only a few old servants around him to take care of his daily life.
The dozens of staff invited this time were all poor scholars from Ezhou or Yueyang. Shen Yang directly allocated a dozen houses from the prime minister's residence and asked them to live in them with their families. It was crowded and lively.
The backyard of the prime minister's residence was originally a garden of more than ten acres. Except for a dozen large trees, all other exotic flowers and plants were removed and turned into a vegetable garden.
"Shen Yang, you're just chewing peonies, aren't you afraid that others will say you're just trying to gain fame?" Yang En couldn't help but feel sad every time he went to Shen Yang's house and saw the back garden being trampled like this by Shen Yang. He scolded him a few words.
"You are also a minister participating in the political affairs. You always run to my side. Aren't you afraid of being involved in a private clique?" Shen Yang said.
"What kind of temper and character I have, Yang En, is not only known to everyone in Jinling City, but is also known in the streets and alleys. If anyone wants to impeach me, just let him go," Yang En said with a smile. "It's a good thing you didn't ask people to dig up these trees. Otherwise, we wouldn't have a shaded place to talk in the Prime Minister's Mansion."
At this time, the staff and guests walked away knowingly and did not hinder Yang En and Shen Yang from discussing confidential matters.
Yang En had a playful expression before, but the next moment he couldn't help but let out a long sigh and asked Shen Yang: "Sizhou is in civil turmoil. If you say that Han Qian didn't do anything secretly, you and I won't believe it, right? "
There are some things that we know very well, but we just cannot say them openly in the political hall. After all, everything discussed by the princes in the political hall will be recorded and will be the main material for the history of future generations.
Some things can only be discussed privately.
The discussion in the political hall lasted for a long time, and everyone had quite different opinions. However, Shen Yang ignored the civil unrest in Sizhou at this time and advocated that the candidate for Guangde Magistrate should be determined first.
Yang En could guess that the common points between Sizhou and Guangde Mansion were related to Han Qian, but there were some things that he couldn't say clearly in front of His Majesty in the Government Hall, so he could only chase Shen Yang to the Prime Minister's Mansion. , I thought it would be better to tell the truth in private to save everyone from speculating behind my back.
Of course, Yang En only did this to Shen Yang.
Shen Yang took out an opened letter from his arms, handed it to Yang En, and said, "Someone threw this letter into the courtyard early yesterday morning. Please take a look..."
Yang En took the letter suspiciously, lowered his head to read it, but the more he read, the more shocked his face became: "Is this letter definitely written by Han Qian?"
"Han Qian would naturally not leave any evidence behind and write this letter with his own hands, but there is no doubt that he sent someone to throw this letter into the hospital. Otherwise, no one would know so many details inside." Shen Yang said.
"Why don't you submit this letter to Your Majesty?" Yang En asked subconsciously, but on second thought he thought about it first, "Submit this letter to His Majesty, Han Qian will deny it, and it will make the matter more complicated. ——”
Shen Yang nodded and admitted that he didn't take out the letter because he didn't want things to get more complicated.
Yang En sighed in his heart. He had experienced too many ups and downs in his life and had a thorough understanding of human nature. How could there be unreserved trust between monarch and ministers?
Yang En couldn't help but read the letter carefully, but he couldn't help but curled his lips and said: "He has no scruples. He directly pointed out in the letter that he was doing trouble in Sizhou, and he was going to shake the mountain and shake the tiger, so that all the officials in the political affairs hall would be shocked. He knows that Guangde Mansion cannot be in chaos - he is convinced that all the guilds in the Government Hall are being led by his nose?"
"Thinking of the civil unrest in the state, Prince Yang, Marquis Li, and Master Zheng will definitely have deeper thoughts, but they may not be led by him," Shen Yang said, "That's why he sent this letter to me In the courtyard, make sure I will be led by the nose..."
"Do you believe Han Qian? He is not his father Han Daoxun after all?" Yang En said with a frown.
Before the relationship between His Majesty and Han Qian broke down, Yang En believed that Han Qian could become the great minister of Chu. But now that His Majesty and Han Qian are inseparable, it will be difficult to repair the broken relationship.
Yang En did not think that Han Qian was a traitor or a hypocrite, but he also did not think that Han Qian was the kind of person who would completely disregard his own life for the sake of the country and the people.
The various whirlpools and undercurrents currently surrounding Guangde Mansion are, to put it bluntly, too many people targeting Han Qian. It is normal for Han Qian to be petty in order to protect himself.
Didn't Han Qian plot against Shen Yang in order to escape from Fanchang City?
"Look at my full head of white hair, which I made by asking him to toss it out. Even now, someone is saying behind my back that Wang Lin was killed by an assassin sent by me secretly. How can I completely believe what he said?"
Shen Yang smiled bitterly,
"But one thing is certain. The Liang Kingdom has put down the rebellion of King Bo. The intelligence detected by the Zifang Division is consistent with what Han Qian said in his letter. Emperor Liang indeed sent Zhou Daoyuan, a doctor from the Ministry of Works, to serve as the governor of Luozhou. Chuda built hydraulic equipment, mined coal and iron, and developed craftsmanship. It can be seen that the Liangguo secret agent who was lurking around Han Daoxun at the time smuggled Han Qian and the engineering secretary controlled by Han Daoxun and his son to the Liangguo. Now it is not a letter or a secret. I don’t believe Han Qian’s words, but if Guangde Mansion is in chaos and Jinling is unstable, it will be impossible to advance in the campaign to suppress Shouzhou, and the problem in Chuzhou will not be solved. Three to five years later, Liang Jun will launch a large-scale southward attack again. At that time, Han Qian could still live happily in the dangerous land of Xuzhou, but how can all the gentlemen in front of him turn the tide?"
"Yes, whether you believe Han Qian's words or not, even if you have to be very cautious, you have to do it openly. In the end, as long as the foundation of Da Chu is stable and the subjects are in peace, Han Qian and other scheming people will have ambitions. It will become a lack of ambition," Yang En couldn't help but sigh. "Otherwise, he will not be able to defeat Han Qian in conspiracy, but he will lose face."
"It's a pity that not everyone can figure it out!" Shen Yang sighed.
"This is also simple. I went to see the prince and Zheng Chang and asked them. There was turmoil in Guangde Mansion and the situation in Jinling was unstable. Han Qian got Sizhou and his appetite was not satisfied. He wanted to take the opportunity to annex Chenzhou and Yezhou. How are they going to respond?" Young said.
"...Since they are afraid of Xuzhou, they should tell the truth about their fears. The county prince and Zheng Chang should be able to think clearly about the consequences." Shen Yang nodded and agreed that Yang En had gone to lobby Yang Zhitang and Zheng Chang first. He added, "However, even if the county prince Zheng Zhongcheng supports the early selection of a candidate for Guangde magistrate, it is unknown whether he will agree to use Xue Ruogu or whether they have a more satisfactory candidate. And civil unrest has begun in Sizhou. You can’t really just sit back and watch!”
"Using Xue Ruogu to go out to Guangde Mansion at this time may harm him, and the assassination case has caused great alarm, so it is impossible to give up and stop pursuing it. However, as long as the county prince and Zheng Zhongcheng can think through the consequences, they may I will recommend a more reliable candidate," Yang En said. "As for the civil unrest in Sizhou that broke out only seven days ago, Yang Xingfeng sent his son to Jinling. I think most of the princes wanted to wait and see the situation. The delay was ten days and a half. It won’t get any worse, and it may be more appropriate to wait for further news before making a decision.”
Shen Yang knew that Yang En did not advocate using Xue Ruogu to go out to Guangde Mansion. He probably also considered that Xue Ruogu might not have your majesty's trust. If he insisted on his opinion, he might get someone to seize his majesty's idea and firmly oppose it.
Sometimes, compromise is the only way to go.
Shen Yang sat in this seat. He said that he was the head of the court and had a better understanding of compromise. He waved his hand and decided not to mention this section again. He said: "If you think about the civil unrest in the state, maybe you really need to wait and see for a while." There is a conclusion.”
After reaching a consensus on the Guangde prefecture and the civil unrest in Sizhou, Yang En asked again: "By the way, what does Prime Minister Shen think of the relocation of hungry people to the Shuzhou military mansion? Hundreds of thousands of people are drowned in the road, and further delay If this continues, hundreds or even thousands of people may die of famine every day..."
Excluding the auxiliary counties of Gyeonggi, the population of Jinling City alone at its peak was as many as 500,000 to 600,000.
Clan, princes, ministers and officials of various ministries, family members of the imperial army and generals and military attachés, relatives who surrendered, as well as children of aristocratic clans and wealthy families who moved to Jinling to enjoy the prosperity of the day, as well as many good people who made a living in Jinling. They were civilians, as well as tens of thousands of eunuchs, palace maids, and a total of more than 200,000 people who were dependent on the powerful or enslaved by the powerful.
The Jinling Incident was a great chaos. Even though it has been four months since the recapture of Jinling, there are still a lot of remaining problems that have not yet been resolved.
There are 30,000 to 40,000 civilians who originally lived in the city, but their houses were burned down and their property was robbed during the war. At this time, they can no longer make a living in the city. How can they be relieved?
Tens of thousands of eunuchs and maids were expelled from the palace. These people mainly came from Shouzhou, Chuzhou, Guangling and other places. They were said to be sent home, but they could not really be taken to the Anning Palace rebels and King Xin. Take it over?
This is not the most important thing.
After the Jinling Incident, the vast majority of courtiers and nobles in Jinling City chose to join the Peace Palace.
After the recapture of Jinling, only a few of these nobles and court officials, except for Yang En, Shang Wensheng and others, were pardoned.
More people either crossed the river and fled north with Anning Palace, or were severely punished, either beheaded, exiled, or directly demoted to official slaves and sent to Shaofu Temple to serve as prison guards and apprentices.
There were tens of thousands of slaves and slaves attached to these traitorous courtiers and nobles. Most of them stayed after the recapture of Jinling City. In other words, the old master Ni Bodhisattva crossed the river to protect himself and the refugees, so he could only save the refugees. They were abandoned in Jinling.
Theoretically, these people should be recruited as official slaves and assigned to Shaofu Temple, Taipu Temple or the palace to serve as work apprentices and palace slaves.
The problem is that the official slaves, captured soldiers and children left over from the time when Shaofu Temple and other academies incorporated them, plus the rebellious courtiers and nobles who were demoted to slave status, the number has reached 120,000 people. If they are recruited again, it is not No, but can the imperial court afford such a huge expense?
The land and houses of nobles and nobles have been confiscated by traitorous court officials, either to reward meritorious service, or to expand the farms of the imperial army and bodyguards. Even if the remaining fields are owned by the owner, they have been lost due to the population loss caused by the war. , large areas became deserted.
Shen Yang has not yet boldly advocated the expropriation of these barren fields. He only thinks that Emperor Yanyou can grant amnesty, grant humiliation to good people, restore these slaves to civilian status, and rent these barren fields from the aristocratic clans for cultivation. , so that farming production in Feichi, Gyeonggi counties, can be resumed as soon as possible.
Zheng Yu, Huang Hua and others, however, could not open the door to the exchange of good and bad people, and strongly demanded that the old system should be followed and all these people be included as official slaves.
On the one hand, they are worried that the negative impact of Guangde Palace will expand in Gyeonggi. On the other hand, they are just some smart people thinking that the court will not be able to accommodate too many official slaves in the end, and they can obtain a large number of them very cheaply. It is better to be a slave than to rent out a barren field.
Emperor Yanyou was also very conflicted.
When he ascended the throne, he naturally did not want the desire and power of the aristocratic clans to continue to expand, and he did not want to see Gyeonggi's auxiliary county completely reduced to the world of the aristocratic clans.
However, at this time, he had to rely on aristocratic clans to rule the Chu world.
After all, Shen Yang and generals from humble backgrounds only account for a very small number in the imperial court and in the command system of the imperial army and general bodyguards.
Another reason is that if you really want to sell a large number of wealthy official slaves, you can raise a large amount of money and food in a short time and relieve the current pressure on the national treasury.
Another opinion is to move these slaves to Shuzhou, open another military mansion in Shuzhou, and organize these slaves into military households.
Li Zhigao was in Shuzhou at this time, controlling the Zuo Longque Army and the elite Zuowu Guards. However, the total strength was only more than 40,000 people. Together with the Five Tooth Army Navy, it was not enough to form a military force against the An Ning Palace rebels who had retreated to guard Chaoshou. advantages on.
Not to mention that King Xin, who was granted the title of Huaidong Kingdom, also coveted one side with ulterior motives.
If these slaves are moved to Shuzhou or to Chaozhou, which can be recovered, and organized into forbidden army households, the number of soldiers and horses that Li Zhigao can command in Shuzhou will increase to more than 70,000.
Yang En is more inclined to the third option.
Since King Xin had been granted the title of Huaidong Kingdom, he thought that if he could regain Chaozhou and Shouzhou as soon as possible, King Xin would become law-abiding.
This is the same as his attitude towards Xuzhou. Regardless of whether Han Qian and King Xin are ambitious or not, as long as the court has a solid foundation and can control the situation, Han Qian and King Xin will become law-abiding even if they are ambitious.
As for Shen Yang's proposal, the opposition was too strong.
As long as this problem is solved, the aristocratic clans will have no other hope, so they will hire civilians who cannot make a living in the city to cultivate those barren fields. Even if this is done, the recovery of agricultural production in Gyeonggi counties will be much slower, but it will still be possible. It's better than staying in a stalemate.
In addition, the Chaoshou Prefectures are the real northern gate of Jinling. Due to wars, the population has become sparse before. It can also be expected that in the following wars, the population will be further lost, and a large number of people will need to be moved in from outside. , only then will the foundation of this most critical gateway be solidified.
Of course, there are also objections to this plan.
Then trust Changhou Lipu.
When Li Zhigao left Shuzhou, Li Pu also strongly opposed it, but the officials in the political affairs hall always believed that Li Zhigao was from the Xinchang Hou Mansion.
At this time, Li Zhigao and Chai Jian were serving as commanders in the Xinchanghou Mansion. There should be a limit to Emperor Yanyou's trust in the generals of the Xinchanghou Mansion.
Not to mention that Li Pu used Chai Jian as the core to organize the war in Shaozhou and regain Yongzhou. Yang Zhitang, Zheng Yu, Zheng Chang, Zhang Chao, Du Chongtao and others even advocated replacing Chai Jian and replacing him with someone else to take charge of the south of Shaozhou. Wuzhiling Defense Line.
Li Pu withstood the pressure and insisted that if he did not agree to replace Chai Jian, he could only strongly oppose strengthening Li Zhigao's authority.
If Chai Jian was not replaced, Yang Zhitang, Zheng Yu and others did not support the rush to move so many slaves to Shuzhou and put them under Li Zhigao's control, so they strongly advocated the second plan to deal with the excessive number of slaves. He wanted to recruit officials and slaves, but the soldiers and horses that were lacking in the attack on Shouzhou were proposed to be recruited from several other forbidden armies.
This is the court!
This is a chaotic court where everyone is smart and has their own interests to uphold.
From the perspective of checks and balances, Shen Yang, Yang En and even Yang Yuanpu cannot say that Yang Zhitang and Zheng Yu's ideas are wrong.
In addition, there is a more practical difficulty.
With so many slaves moving north to become military households, the court had to spend a lot of money and food for their resettlement.
Even recruiting and training strong men from these slaves and equipping them with soldiers and armor would cost several times as much as placing them as official slaves.
Yang En raised this question, and many disputes and stalemates swirled in Shen Yang's mind. His brows also furrowed deeper, and he asked Yang En with a wry smile: "Look at my head, are there a few more hairs growing on my head in an instant?" Gray hair?”
Yang En also smiled bitterly. No matter what he advocated, he was very clear about the entangled interests and interests involved. He said: "Then let's hold off. We will first resolve the civil unrest in Guangde Mansion and Sizhou..."
Of course, everything is difficult to resolve. In addition to the entanglement of interests above the court, there is another reason. Even in front of Shen Yang, Yang En is not comfortable speaking directly.
That is because His Majesty lacks his own opinions on these military and national affairs, is too indecisive, and is always easily swayed by other people's opinions.
It's just that His Majesty has not yet passed his prime years. Yang En knew that he could not have too many harsh demands on His Majesty, and thought that things might really not be rushed.
