Yang Fan hadn't been home these days because the transfer of power was not normal and peaceful. The security of the palace was of the utmost importance. Even now, he still had to guard the barracks every day. Today, he took the time to come back. He really didn't know so many things had happened at home.
Yang Nianzu mumbled and was about to reply when Xiao Man suddenly walked out from the bamboo forest path. Seeing her son standing in front of her father like a mouse seeing a cat, she couldn't help feeling angry and amused. She pouted coquettishly at Yang Fan, "You, you haven't been home for a long time. Why are you scolding him as soon as you come back? Nianzu, go play. "
Hearing this, Yang Nianzu felt as if he had been pardoned. He stuck out his tongue at Yang Fan and immediately slipped away. Xiao Man said to Yang Fan, "Mr. Zhan resigned as a teacher. The family hasn't found a suitable teacher yet. Let him rest for a few days. This child is still quite serious when it comes to his homework."
That Mr. Zhan was very responsible in teaching and had a good relationship with Yang Fan as a guest and host. Now that he had resigned, Yang Fan felt it was a pity and asked, "Why did Mr. Zhan resign? Did he think that our family's cultivation wasn't high enough, or did something happen to his family?"
Xiao Man said, "I tried to urge him to stay again and again. Later, that Mr. Zhan really couldn't refuse and told the truth. It turns out that this Mr. Zhan used to be a teacher in Jing Xianggong's family. Later, one of his nieces married Jing Xianggong's brother-in-law to be his second wife. Now Jing Xianggong is recommending him to be an official. He has such a bright future ahead of him, how can I stop him? I gave him a set of Cheng Yi and sent him away. "
The one who was called Xianggong was the prime minister. In the prime minister's class, there was only Jing Hui with the surname Jing. Hearing this, Yang Fan could only shake his head and helplessly say, "A good teacher is hard to find. Then let's take a good look and choose a good teacher. We can't delay the child. Wan 'er is here. Go see her. I'll go see a friend in the study. "
Xiao Man nodded and hurried to the garden. Yang Fan also went straight to the study. Yang Fan pushed open the door of the study and saw a person with his hands clasped behind his back, looking at the landscape painting on the wall. The person turned his head when he heard the voice and turned around. He smiled and bowed deeply to Yang Fan, saying slowly, "Commoner Shen Mu greets Marquis Ye."
Yang Fan laughed and said, "Brother Shen, are you also joking with me? If you like it, then let's switch. I'm envious of your carefree life as a commoner marquis. "
Shen Mu straightened his back and smiled. "Why? You're so young, yet you managed to become a hereditary marquis from nothing. Are you still not satisfied?"
Yang Fan sighed and said, "There is no freedom in the imperial court. You know quite a lot. How long have you been back? "
Shen Mu smiled lazily and said, "I just came back, but … there are some news that I know like the back of my hand even when I'm not in Chang 'an. Otherwise, how do you think I know that you've been conferred the title of marquis? "
Yang Fan said, "It's just an extra stipend. What's the big deal?"
Shen Mu said, "Not just that …"
He looked Yang Fan up and down and asked, "You're now the champion general. Why aren't you wearing a purple robe and jade belt?"
Yang Fan said, "Am I that flashy? It's not like I'm going to the palace to meet the emperor. Am I going to put on a big show dressed like that? "
Shen Mu chuckled and said, "I don't really understand the system of the imperial court. How is it? What's the difference between you, the champion general, and the past? "
Yang Fan frowned and thought for a while. He said, "Other than receiving a few more shillings of lumber, there are a few more officials who need to bow to me. In other words, there are a few more soldiers under my command."
Shen Mu's eyes brightened. He leaned forward and asked, "How much more?"
Yang Fan said, "A thousand cavalry has become ten thousand. How much more do you think it is?"
Shen Mu was startled and cried out, "When did this happen? How come I didn't know about it?"
Yang Fan stretched his waist and said, "It's today. The Emperor just told me about it."
Shen Mu laughed and said, "Good! You're the one who's silently making a fortune. It's better than those who look glamorous on the surface. It's easy to take away an official position and remove a noble title. But this is real military power. No matter who wants to touch you, they have to think it over carefully first. "
Yang Fan waved his hand in boredom and said, "I don't want to rebel nor do I want to use the Emperor to order the feudal vassals. Why do I need such great power?"
Shen Mu said craftily, "Is that so? Then why don't you hang up your crown and return? "
Yang Fan spread his hands and said, "Do you think I can leave just because I want to? I'm not even seventy or eighty years old. What reason do I have to disarm and return to the farm? Will the Emperor approve? The Emperor won't let me go until he has a suitable candidate. Lord Zhang treats me as a party of meritorious officials and would rather me continue to control the thousand cavalries. Right now, my feet are stuck in the mud and I can't extricate myself. "
Shen Mu laughed and said, "They all think highly of you. This is the benefit of being a 'deserter' (chameleon). However, this is just the surface reason, right? "
Yang Fan looked at him and said, "I see that you didn't come today because you just returned to the capital and specially came to visit, right?"
Shen Mu sat up straight and had a solemn expression. "Erlang, the Empress has abdicated, the Crown Prince has ascended the throne, and Li Tang's empire has been restored. However, do you think that the world can be at peace from now on?"
Yang Fan looked at him again and asked in reply, "What do you think?"
Shen Mu said, "I think that the first year of the Divine Dragon and the change of the Black Tortoise are just the beginning!"
Yang Fan's expression suddenly changed. He might have the 'Heaven Observation Division', a think tank that was helping him to gather intelligence, analyze the situation, and come up with strategies for him, but he had never underestimated the Hidden Sect's capabilities. He believed that the Hidden Sect should have a similar organization.
Yang Fan wanted to listen to Shen Mu's opinion and verify if his judgment was correct. Thus, he sat up straight and nodded to Shen Mu seriously, indicating for him to continue.
Shen Mu said, "The Empress originally planned to pass the throne to the Crown Prince. However, the sudden emergence of the Second Zhang caused everyone to be at a loss. They didn't want to complicate matters, so they decisively used force. Now that the Second Zhang has been executed, they have achieved their objective. The abdication of the Empress merely brought forward the time of the Crown Prince's ascension.
If there was an unexpected change, it was actually a huge change in the distribution of power in the imperial court. After supporting the Crown Prince to ascend the throne, the meritorious officials suddenly rose up and overtook the previous, becoming the most powerful force in the current imperial court. The experience of going through life and death together had made them stick together, and they could be called … the Meritorious Officials' Party.
The power of the Li Tang royal family had also increased in this mutiny, but this power was not in the hands of the Emperor himself, but in the hands of the Prince of Xiang and Princess Taiping. The Prince of Xiang controlled the South Office, and his power mainly came from force. Of course, there were people in the imperial court who were inclined to him, and they could be called the Prince of Xiang's Party.
Princess Taiping's power was mainly in the imperial court. This time, her subordinates had occupied many important positions, both in the open and in the dark. It could be expected that she would draw up a list and stuff more subordinates into the imperial court to occupy important positions. Moreover, she was the best person to mediate conflicts between the Emperor and the Prince of Xiang, between the Emperor and Prince Liang, and between the Prince of Xiang and Prince Liang. She played an important role, and so she could be called the Taiping Party.
As for the Wu clan, they had not suffered any losses in this mutiny, and moreover, the Wu clan had also contributed greatly in this mutiny. No matter how much the meritorious officials rejected them, they still had to give Wu Sansi an explanation. Thus, it could be expected that the Wu clan's power would also increase, and so it could be called the Prince of Liang's Party.
Here came the problem. The original situation was that the Wu clan and the Li clan should have controlled the world together, with the Wu clan controlling the army and the Li clan governing the government. The leader of the Wu clan was Wu Sansi, and the leader of the Li clan was the current emperor. Wu Sansi was nearly seventy years old and did not have many years left to live. The Wu clan lacked successors in the third generation, and the Li clan had imperial power and righteousness in their hands.
At that time, the Prince of Xiang and Princess Taiping did not have the strength to contend against the Wu clan alone, nor did they have the strength to contend against the righteous emperor. They could only firmly stand by the emperor's side, gather the strength of the entire Li Tang clan, and slowly counteract the influence that the Wu clan had formed since the Empress came to power. Finally, they peacefully centralized power in the imperial family.
But what had become of it? The Li Tang imperial clan had grown stronger, but this strength was in the hands of the Prince of Xiang's Party and the Taiping Party, not directly under the emperor. The Wu clan had also grown stronger, but what about the emperor? The civil and military officials had always been the emperor's strength, but a group of meritorious ministers had emerged from the civil and military officials, forming their own faction that could not be shaken off.
Thus, the Imperial Court had to face this situation: the Wu clan's party was still the Wu clan's party, while the Li clan's party was split into three parties. These three parties, according to their strength, were the Meritorious Minister's Party, the Prince of Xiang's Party, and the Taiping Party. The direct result of the Li clan's party splitting into three parties was that the emperor would be a mere figurehead, becoming the weakest of all the factions. "
Shen Mu's voice seemed to deafen the deaf as it resounded in Yang Fan's ear. "'Heroes rise together, the master is weak, the ministers are strong!' Since ancient times, when has there ever been peace? Are you the Emperor's Party, the Prince of Xiang's Party, the Taiping Party, the Liang Party, or the Meritorious Minister's Party? Even if you've removed your armor and returned to the fields, if your party is defeated, will you be able to meet a good end? People often say that when one succeeds, one must retire. When one has not succeeded, how can one retire? "
… …
"Crash!"
The memorials piled high on the imperial desk were swept to the ground by Li Xian. Li Xian flew into a rage, his chest heaving and his face flushed red. "Preposterous! Preposterous! Each and every one of you, are you treating us like a puppet and manipulating us? "
Consort Wei personally brought a tray of food to the imperial study. On it was a bowl of soup and a plate of sugar biscuits. These were Li Xian's favorite foods. Seeing Li Xian fly into a rage, Consort Wei hurriedly put down the tray and gently said, "Look at you, why are you so angry? You're the emperor now, you should not show your emotions."
"Look at this, look at this, what kind of bastards are these!"
Seeing Consort Wei enter, Li Xian casually picked up a memorial that had luckily survived on the imperial desk. He casually flipped through it and handed it to Consort Wei, angrily saying, "Here! This is Huan Yanfan's memorial requesting for merits. There are over a hundred names of meritorious ministers listed on it, but we have never seen a single one of them.
Look at this person, this is Huan Yanfan's brother-in-law, the Provincial Governor of Yizhou, Zhao Lvwen. Huan Yanfan said that he was also a great meritorious minister who planned the mutiny and supported us to ascend the throne! He was far away in Hebei, so how could he plan a mutiny and support us to ascend the throne? Isn't this treating us as an idiot? This is blatant deceiving the emperor, deceiving the emperor without the slightest scruple! His intentions should be punished, his intentions should be punished ah! "
The honeymoon between ruler and minister was so short, and it was only the first month …
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