Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 906 Azure Dragon Coiling Pivot
Prime Minister Yang Yuan returned to Lin'an from Yingzhou by water.

The naval commander-in-chief, Lin Rongyue, personally led the boat to escort them.

The boat traveled south along the Ying River from Yingzhou, entered the Huai River, and then turned into the Yangtze River via the Hangou Canal.

They transferred to a larger official ship on the Yangtze River and sailed downstream to Zhenjiang, then via the Zhejiang West Canal, directly to Lin'an.

Emperor Zhao Dun and the Second Prince Zhao Kai, along with all the civil and military officials, set up a decorated tent outside Yuhang Gate in the northern suburbs of Lin'an to welcome Prime Minister Yang back.

Officials from the Ministry of Rites presided over the welcoming ceremony, while Wang Zirui, the Prefect of Lin'an, was responsible for clearing the way along the route, and Liu Shangqiu from the Privy Council was responsible for maintaining order along the route.

Its scale was reminiscent of subjects respectfully welcoming the emperor's return from the south.

Of course, the court had its own excuses, namely that the Prime Minister had made great contributions and that a great victory in the Northern Expedition was in sight.

With the recapture of Bianliang, the capital of the Great Song Dynasty, imminent, the Prime Minister's contribution is immense, and therefore the Emperor should personally welcome him back.

The official in charge of receiving and comforting the emperor, as well as the ceremonies for all officials, was a senior official in the Ministry of Rites who was in charge of rites and music and the imperial examinations.

This doctor was under forty years old, with a refined appearance and a dashing demeanor; he was quite handsome, a real gentleman.

However, this handsome uncle didn't seem very friendly to Prime Minister Yang.

His gaze towards Yang Yuan carried a hint of suppressed anger. Although he presided over the entire ceremony in a disciplined manner, his hostile attitude towards Yang Yuan was quite obvious.

Upon seeing this, Gan Quan and Yang Shou exchanged a glance and then set their sights on the man.

These two gentlemen are now Yang Yuan's two henchmen.

His closest generals were practically Yang Yuan's two guardians.

When they traveled from Sichuan to Jiankang, Qian Duanli, the Sichuan Pacification Commissioner, summoned the two fierce generals and gave them some instructions.

They now understand their identity and position all too well, and know what they should do.

If this short-sighted official from the Ministry of Rites dares to do or say anything inappropriate, they will immediately eliminate him.

Yang Shou's hammer had not yet been stained with blood on his journey to Huaibei, and he was very thirsty for blood.

As for Gan Quan, he had a flintlock pistol hanging on his waist, which would be absolutely accurate at such close range.

Yang Yuan had already mentioned the idea of ​​a flintlock gun to Xiao Qianyue and told her all the trivial principles he knew.

Metallurgical techniques during the Southern Song Dynasty, such as steel blade forging and spring steel sheet production, had not yet reached the level of those during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

However, wheel-type or percussion-type flintlock devices can now be handcrafted by skilled artisans.

This is also why it cannot be mass-produced and equipped by the entire army at present.

With current technology, it is not feasible to use it in war.

Current firearms manufacturing still focuses on enabling mass production and equipping the military with existing technology.

Its lethality also focuses on group kills rather than individual precision shooting.

However, it would be acceptable to handcraft a few flintlock muskets for the Prime Minister to play with.

As the leader of Yang Yuan's firearms unit, Gan Quan naturally had access to them as well.

Yang Yuan naturally noticed the problem with that official from the Ministry of Rites.

So after paying his respects to the emperor, he took advantage of the opportunity when officials came forward to give their speeches in turn, and quietly asked Chen Weiqing, the Minister of Rites, "Who is presiding over the ceremony?"

Chen Weiqing, the Minister of Rites, was about to retire, but Yang Yuan pulled him in to become the "seal-stamped prime minister."

Chen Xiang was very happy. He could just coast along in this position for a while and then retire to his hometown. That would be the life of a retired prime minister!
My family had a prime minister among our ancestors!

This is enough for his descendants for eighteen generations to brag about for a lifetime.

Unexpectedly, he suddenly transformed into the powerful Minister of Rites.

Old Chen has been completely rejuvenated.

His legs no longer hurt when he walks, and he is no longer short of breath. He even took a new concubine last month.

The potency of power is so potent!
He felt that he could serve the imperial court for another ten years!

Minister Chen also noticed the attitude of the official in charge of rites and felt quite uneasy.

Just then, Yang Yuan asked about it, and Minister Chen quickly clarified:

"Prime Minister, that is Jiang Yanzhou, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, who was originally the Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince."

"I received Your Excellency's decree that after his release from prison, he was transferred to the Ministry of Rites..."

"what!"

Yang Yuan immediately understood.

It turns out he is the father of Jiang Ninghuan, the beauty from Jinling.

No wonder he had such a sour face towards me.

They stole someone else's precious baby cabbage and haven't even explained it to them yet.

This is a great scholar who values ​​his family's reputation above all else; how could he bear such humiliation?
Yang Yuan smiled slightly, turned around and whispered a few words to Liu Dazhuang, then continued to greet and converse with the ministers as if no one else was around.

Liu Dazhuang quietly went to Jiang Yanzhou, the physician, and whispered Yang Yuan's words to him.

I heard that Yang Yuan will visit in three days and has already sent a boat to the Jiankang Palace to bring his daughter to Lin'an.

This clearly meant that a proper title was being given, and Jiang Langzhong's expression softened.

Many of the ministers did not know why the official in charge of the ceremony, the Ministry of Rites official, had such a sour expression.

Some people thought that this person was dissatisfied with Prime Minister Yang's arrogance, which seemed to be above the emperor, and wanted to remonstrate with him on the spot.

They were just about to enjoy the spectacle when they suddenly noticed that Dr. Jiang... had brightened up.

……

After the welcoming ceremony was over, the young emperor returned to the city in his imperial carriage, insisting on having Yang Yuan sit with him.

Fortunately, as long as the emperor approves it, it is an honor, not an overstepping of authority.

Unable to refuse, Yang Yuan had no choice but to ride in the imperial carriage with Zhao Dun.

When the emperor leaves the palace, the common people are required to avoid him.

However, there is also the custom of "gazing at the emperor's face," and in some safe sections of the road, people are allowed to watch from outside the cordon.

Compared to emperors of other dynasties, Song emperors were less aloof and more approachable, allowing ordinary people to gather and watch them more freely.

However, when Yang Yuan sat with the emperor, the curtain was lifted, and what he saw at a glance was rather complicated.

Not to mention that Yang Yuan was more upright and handsome than Zhao Dun, he was also a martial artist, and the spirit and energy of a martial artist are different.

When you're with ordinary people, the comparisons make the differences even more apparent.

The two sat side by side in the carriage. Yang Yuan was as dignified and majestic as Guan Yu, but Zhao Dun, though sitting in the center, did not look as imposing as Zhou Cang, who was carrying a sword.

When the people saw this, they naturally made their own comparisons and felt that the imperial aura had indeed shifted.

After that day, many prophetic sayings and cryptic verses began to circulate among the people. These included phrases such as "Yang Yuan Gate, Emperor's Banner," and "Mars guards the heart, Taiwei shifts its position"...

There is also the saying, "The Azure Dragon coils around the pivot, residing in a position that is not its proper place."

However, some busybodies immediately began to investigate: if the Azure Dragon is Prime Minister Yang, then who is the White Tiger?
Those who start "driving sports cars" while chatting are naturally just ordinary people.

However, in that era, such rumors would never have spontaneously taken shape among the people without the covert cooperation of a large number of sorcerers and Confucian scholars.

Yang Yuan's return to the capital meant that his focus was no longer solely on the Huaihe River front.

Domestic affairs, foreign affairs, economy, people's livelihood...

The best time to plan for the year is in spring, when many things are done at the right time.

Fortunately, although some mediocre people are now in positions of power in the upper echelons of the court, it is still better than the previous situation of factional struggles and positional conflicts where people hindered and undermined each other.

When there is a unified voice at the top, the efficiency of the state apparatus becomes incomparable to what it used to be.

As for military matters, Yang Yuan's focus is no longer limited to Nanjing Road of the Jin Dynasty.

He needed to consider the internal strife in the Jinghu direction, the Sichuan-Shaanxi direction, the Western Xia direction, and even the Liangshan Prefecture and the four routes of Sichuan and the Three Gorges.

If he didn't now have a highly efficient court, and if the inner secretariat, and especially the outer secretariat, were to play an increasingly important role, he probably wouldn't be able to handle it.

Now, many of the scholars he recruited from the five major academies in Sichuan, after years of honing their skills in the secretariat, are beginning to be placed by him in various departments of the imperial court.

These new forces also played a significant role.

All the complexities converged on Yang Yuan, leaving only a few major directional issues that required his final decision.

In this way, Yang Yuan was finally freed from his complicated affairs.

Yang Yuan is no longer busy, which is even more terrifying than him doing everything himself.

This not only means that he actually has stronger control over the court.

This also means that his team already has too many talented people who can stand on their own.

Even after Yang Yuan returned to the capital, there were still some criticisms of him from both the court and the common people.

The criticisms and accusations against Yang Yuan mainly focused on his decision to "gradually expand into the Central Plains".

The Song Dynasty's counterattack was clearly unstoppable, so why didn't it launch a full-scale northward offensive in one go?
The surprise attack on Yanjing by the elite troops led to the annihilation of the Jin Dynasty in one fell swoop. How magnificent!

Those raising such questions are all ordinary people.

Those who made such a statement in the imperial court were scholars from various regions, as well as the censors and Hanlin scholars in the court.

The common people have limited access to information, lack a broad perspective and analytical skills, and simply vent their frustrations based on instinctive emotions.

In any case, their enthusiasm for the imperial court's northern expedition far outweighed their opposition to the war.

Therefore, Yang Yuan immediately stopped the court after learning of its plan to suppress rumors and severely punish those who complained in teahouses and taverns.

The people's support is valuable!
Just because their ideas differ from yours doesn't mean they are rebellious or arrogant.

If they all had your vision, what would they need you for?
Just tell them the facts and the reasons, and make things clear.

Yang Yuan did not want to oppress the people into meek lambs and implement a policy of "making the people follow a path, but not make them understand it" to keep them ignorant.

The entertainment industry in the Song Dynasty was so developed that it was a natural folk propaganda system, which should be utilized.

As for the scholars and Hanlin scholars, let the emerging scholars of the new Shu school debate with them.

As long as it doesn't cross any lines, Yang Yuan is happy to see this lively atmosphere.

The silence of everyone else, with only him speaking in the court, was something he didn't want to see.

Nothing is too much or too little.

As someone with a background in crisis public relations, Yang Yuan's way of thinking originally had this kind of conceptual foundation.

Today, he understands the truth even more deeply.

In Liangshan Prefecture, production has now resumed, and the root cause of the unrest in the four routes of Sichuan and the Three Gorges has been resolved.

However, Yang Yuan worried that the indigenous leaders of the twelve counties in Liangshan would become increasingly demanding once they tasted success.

This kind of thing is very likely to happen.

Therefore, he has secretly ordered the Liangshan Prefecture Mining Army to immediately and without hesitation suppress any signs of unrest with severe measures.

A combination of carrot and stick is the best approach.

The situation of smoke billowing everywhere along the four routes of Sichuan and the Three Gorges has also been brought under control.

Never underestimate the hidden power of local tyrants.

Once their energy is fully mobilized, their ability and role in stabilizing different areas are enormous.

Thanks to the combined efforts of various powerful figures in Sichuan, the unrest in the Sichuan Gorges has been quickly brought under control.

The next step is to guide the powerful local families in the Sichuan-Guizhou region to develop the economy, thereby naturally weakening the strength of the local armed forces.

Qian Duanli was very good at this kind of thing.

However, this means he won't be able to leave Sichuan for the time being.

Yang Yuan was about to marry a woman from the Qian family, and this old father would never return.

Fortunately, even for a major event like mourning, the imperial court could "take away the mourning period," let alone the marriage of one's children.

When the prime minister Fu Bi of the Northern Song Dynasty married off his daughter, he was serving as the governor of a local area and could not return in time, so his cousin Fu Xu officiated the wedding on his behalf.

The Qian family could naturally follow suit.

As for Li Dao, who was heading towards Jinghu, Yang Yuan had sent him back to the capital, and he was currently on his way to Lin'an.

The previous battle was still ongoing, and many generals were unable to leave. Li Dao had not yet received orders to attack north, so it was a good time to return to the capital to receive an award.

His surprise attack on Xizhou Granary caused the Jin army to collapse across the board. This was a great achievement and deserves to be commended to inspire the soldiers on the front lines.

While we're at it, let's give him a wedding gift for his daughter.

Therefore, when Li Dao went to the capital, he brought a boat full of dowry.

However, Yang Yuan did not expect that before he could wait for Li Dao, Xin Jin's envoy had already arrived in Ganpu.

The Central Plains War was a time of great upheaval and change.

Xin Jin finally couldn't sit still any longer.

But they waited patiently for a long time and still did not receive any news of Yang Yuan's collaboration.

Even the ongoing military trade was interrupted, and the capital city finally couldn't sit still any longer.

A grand delegation from the Jin Dynasty has visited the Song Dynasty.

As the wild geese flew north, the Xinjin delegation arrived in Lin'an.

(End of this chapter)