Early the next morning, Yang Fan had to lead the army to Chang 'an. He had to return to the military camp tonight, so time was tight. But because this meeting with Princess Taiping was very important and related to how the two of them could cooperate with each other in Chang 'an and Luoyang, Yang Fan stayed in the Princess Mansion for almost two hours before leaving.
Yang Fan couldn't tell Princess Taiping about the Succession Hall, so when it came to Chang 'an, it was difficult to explain some things clearly. But in terms of grasping the overall situation, Princess Taiping was undoubtedly better than him. From his vague words, Taiping still grasped the key point, so he had a clear idea of what to do next.
When Yang Fan left, he saw an ox cart escorted by several servants coming. There was no official banner on the cart, but when the person in the cart came out, Yang Fan glanced at him and vaguely recognized that he seemed to be a Renhuang of the Hall of Governmental Affairs.
Just now, when he and Taiping were in secret, the steward Li Yi came in three times to whisper to the Princess. Yang Fan vaguely heard some news of a court official visiting.
Since Wu Zetian made the oath of alliance and asked Princess Taiping to attend, the sensitive officials understood the Emperor's intention. So these days, there was an endless stream of officials visiting the Princess Mansion. Most of these officials were fence-sitters, neutral parties, and wait-and-see parties.
Why did they turn to Taiping? Was it because they thought that Princess Taiping, who had just risen, would be the most powerful among the various forces in the court? Or, it was just because of Taiping's special identity. She was the Princess of the Li family and the daughter-in-law of the Wu family. No matter which party fell, they would not easily kill her.
Moreover, she was a woman and would not directly participate in the fight for the throne. Worshiping her as a disciple would not be like those officials who clearly supported a candidate for the throne and had no way out. Because of these reasons, they naturally flocked to Princess Taiping.
However, this directly strengthened Princess Taiping's influence. When Taiping's power and influence reached a certain level, would her status and mentality still be as aloof as today?
Yang Fan silently walked on his way home. Every time he had a meeting recently, he had a strong feeling that … he and Taiping were drifting further and further apart. This feeling was not because he was meeting with Taiping now. It was more because he was studying political cooperation. There was less love between a man and a woman. That was a feeling of the soul.
Could passionate love last for ten years, twenty years, or even a lifetime? No! A pair of lovers, after the passion, would rely on family, children, and a common life to maintain their love, and eventually, it would also turn into family love. But there was no basis for him and Taiping to evolve their love into kinship.
Therefore, after the passion gradually cooled down, the relationship between the two of them was more like a pair of confidants, a pair of friends, and more like two partners who cooperated with tacit understanding in the business. It was only because of the connection between their souls and flesh that there was more trust and intimacy between them.
Under such circumstances, would Taiping, who had lost the shackles of his emotions, grow even more ambitious? Yang Fan was not sure.
If Wu Mei had not entered the palace and instead married into some noble family, even the struggle for favor in the harem would not have been so bitter. If she had ultimately become the mistress of a household and not the empress dowager of a country, she would never have become the Wu Zetian of today. A person's fate had always changed according to their circumstances. The times and heroes would always create each other.
No one could follow the path that had been determined long ago and walk through their lives without the slightest deviation. Yang Fan did not know whether Wu Zetian's decision to finally break her ban and allow her daughter, whom she had always been wary of, to enter politics was a blessing or a disaster, but at least for now, he had to support her, and he could only support her.
Because the Crown Prince and the Prince of Xiang, under the sensitive and paranoid eyes of the empress, could not possibly recruit soldiers like Princess Taiping. When Princess Taiping appeared in the newly completed Heavenspan Palace, standing together with the thirty princes of the Wu and Li clans, she became the greatest hope for the Li clan's revival.
… …
When Yang Fan gathered the Gu brothers and Gu Zhuting to make arrangements, the clan already knew that he was going to Chang'an. By the time he returned home, his luggage had already been personally packed by Xiao Man.
Xiao Man tirelessly exhorted him again and again, telling him to pay attention to his temperature, pay attention to his diet, and take care of his body. Meanwhile, A Nu counted down the days, hoping that when she gave birth, her husband would have a chance to come back. His two lovely wives did not have any hidden grudges against him for his long journey.
In this era, the vast majority of men who became officials had to travel thousands of li to serve as officials. As long as their parents were still alive, their wives had to stay at home to fulfill their filial duties. Thus, there were many women who parted from their husbands for several years or even ten-some years. Repenting and teaching their husbands to seek the title of marquis was the resentment of countless women who hoped that their husbands would succeed, but when their husbands really did succeed, they felt lonely and cold. Compared to those women, they were already very lucky.
Yang Fan picked up his luggage and was about to leave when he suddenly saw his precious son and daughter staring at him eagerly. He suddenly remembered that when he went to see Taiping, she was troubled because of her son's unfilial behavior. A sense of crisis immediately arose in Yang Fan's heart.
Yang Fan began to earnestly instruct Xiao Man, "The children are not young anymore. After the New Year, ask a teacher to teach them something. Our son needs to learn, and so does our daughter. Zither, chess, calligraphy, poetry, singing, morality, character, martial arts … You two should also teach them a little. You don't need to be the enemy of tens of thousands of people, but at least they can strengthen their bodies. You can't spoil the children! "
Yang Nianzu blinked his big eyes as he listened. He immediately grasped the most important issue in Yang Fan's words, "Father, if I learn to read, can I still go out to play?"
Yang Fan's face turned serious and said, "Of course, learning to read is the main thing. If you learn well, I can let you play for a while. If you don't learn well, of course you can't play!"
Yang Nianzu immediately looked at his mother bitterly, "Mother, I don't want to celebrate the New Year!"
Xiao Man couldn't help but laugh. Yang Fan's face darkened, and he became more like a strict father, "You haven't even learned and you want to be lazy? When I come back, I will check your studies. If you don't learn well, I will spank you! "
Yang Nianzu pouted and said, "Father, go quickly. If you don't go, the city gate will be closed."
Yang Fan laughed and said, "Hey! You little bastard, you are driving me away. "
After being teased by his son, some of the sorrow of separation faded. Yang Fan gently hugged his two lovely wives and said softly, "I'm going. Don't send me out. It's a big crowd!"
Yang Fan turned and walked out of the door. As soon as he stepped over the threshold, his precious daughter, Yang Sirong, who had not spoken a word, said, "Father, wait a minute!"
Yang Fan's heart warmed. It was said that daughters were their parents' intimate little cotton-padded jackets. She was only a few years old, but she already knew that she couldn't bear to leave her father. Yang Fan turned around with a smile and looked affectionately at his beautiful daughter, who had her hair combed into two horns. She ran over with her fingers and arranged tasks for him, "Father, remember to buy me a mask, a clay figurine, a wooden horse, a whistle, a bamboo dragon, um … and a pretty little skirt when you come back …"
After hearing this, Yang Fan said to Xiao Man with tears in his eyes, "Wife, educating children is a long and arduous task. There is an ancient saying that a mother taught her children, and Mencius's mother moved three times. It can be seen that educating children is very important as a mother. Whether our two unlucky children will be successful or not depends on you! "
…
There was a very large dock on Ba (Bailu Plain). Behind the wide dock area, there were huge granaries. The huge granaries stood on this plateau, like giants that could support the heaven and earth. Below the plateau, there were endless fertile fields.
Ba was located at the confluence of the Ba River and the Wei River. The people here relied on the water to make a living.
When the flood was in full swing, it could swallow everything in an instant, including your life, your family, your home, and your city. But if humans wanted to survive, they also couldn't do without it. Therefore, even though it would occasionally throw a tantrum, humans still followed its footsteps without abandoning it.
Chang 'an, Luoyang, Daliang, Ye City, Yangzhou, Jingkou … These prosperous cities and Dafu all relied on the banks of the great rivers. Even a small village had to live by the river. The Yellow River flowed through Daiming, so the goods from Jianghuai, Min, and Shu converged here from thousands of miles away. The Yellow River changed its course to the south, and Daiming instantly declined.
The dock of Ba thrived on water transportation, and the main goods transported here were grain.
Guanzhong was an important grain production area, but its output was not enough to meet the needs of Chang 'an City. The garrison in Chang 'an, the officials who stayed in the capital, the scholars who traveled to study, the rich and powerful families and their servants who gathered here, the students of the Imperial College and the Imperial College, the Buddhist temples, the Taoist temples, and the large number of monks who did not produce …
After Wu Zetian moved the capital to Luoyang, Chang 'an still had a population of 700,000, and 300,000 of them were not farmers. These people needed nearly six million dans of grain a year, and this did not include the grains needed by the garrison to raise the horses. And how much grain could Guanzhong provide for this millennium ancient capital?
Deducting the fiefdoms of the nobles and dukes, the allotted fields of the officials in the capital, the public fields, the bestowed fields, and the Buddhist fields of the Taoist temples, Guanzhong's annual grain output was about three million dans. Deducting the grain used by the people and paid to the Chang 'an granaries as taxes, there was at most two million dans of grain. Nearly four million dans of grain had to be transported from other places every year.
Because of this, the water transportation prospered and supported a large number of people who relied on water to make a living. These people were called the water laborers, and there were tens of thousands of them.
Water was the most unpredictable thing. When it was gentle, it could take whatever it wanted, but when it was angry, it could destroy everything. To transport grain, a group of people had to stick together to fight against the turbulent torrents, the treacherous terrain, the unpredictable weather, the extortionate officials, and the local gangsters at the docks. They had to use their blood, sweat, and lives to transport the grain to Chang 'an in exchange for food for their families.
Therefore, those who depended on the water to make a living had to unite in order to improve their ability to survive. Thus, they naturally formed gangs. The "Shun Faction" was one of these gangs of various sizes. The "Shun Faction" had more than two hundred members and five boats. It was just a small gang among the gangs of the Canal Transport. Their Gang Leader was Qiao Mu.
Gang Master Qiao had been very distressed recently, because the "Shun Gang", which had never been smooth since it opened, had now encountered a big obstacle. Gang Master Qiao, who had even dared to sail through the Sanmen Gorge, which was known as the gate of hell, was really desperate this time. He knew that he could not overcome this obstacle this time.
At this time, his benefactor came. This benefactor was a very beautiful girl. Her surname was Gu.
…
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