Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 336 Each Has Its Own Ambitions
"Open the door! Open the door quickly!!"

In the East Market of Chang'an, the morning light was just breaking and the city gate had just been opened at the hour of Mao, but the people in the city had already fallen into panic.

As the news of the "Wang Pang Rebellion" reached Chang'an, the bad news that the canal transport was cut off also spread throughout the streets and alleys.

People flocked to the grain shops in various districts, trying to buy food to cope with the impending surge in food prices, but they were always one step too slow.

"My family wants six dou of corn!"

"I want five bushels!"

"Two stones! I want two stones!"

In front of the grain shop, people were shouting one after another, their voices filled with anxiety and despair.

In the face of their anxiety, the clerk of the grain store stood coldly at the door, inserted a wooden sign with "A dou of rice, 200 coins" written on it into the pile of millet, and then announced loudly:

"Don't rush, don't rush. The price has changed. It's now 200 coins per bucket!"

"what?!"

"Aren't you guys robbing me of money?!"

When the people heard this, they were immediately in an uproar.

Some people angrily accused the grain shop of taking advantage of the situation to loot, while others shook their heads and sighed in despair.

The clerk at the grain store didn't care at all and responded coldly: "Buy it if you can, get out if you don't want to!"

In the city of Chang'an, ordinary people could only earn six or seven hundred coins a month by working.

Nowadays, a dou of rice costs two hundred coins, and one month's salary can only buy three dou of rice.

How can this little bit of food be enough for a family of several people?
Many people suddenly felt as if the sky had fallen, and their hearts were filled with helplessness and despair.

"What should we do? A bushel of rice costs 200 coins. There are five of us in our family, and this little rice won't last us even half a month!"

"What about the imperial court? Doesn't the imperial court have granaries? Why doesn't it release grain to stabilize grain prices?"

Faced with a grain price of only two hundred coins per dou of rice, many people could only pin their hopes on the imperial court, but their expectations were doomed to fail.

The grain transport was cut off, and the food supply in Luoyang and Guanzhong was paralyzed. Faced with such a situation, the imperial court's granaries were unable to take care of the millions of people in Guanzhong.

The people were so panic-stricken that they could only rush around, even if they could only find slightly cheaper food.

While they were running around, two fat men dressed in Shu brocade in a carriage not far from the grain shop in Chang'an East Market watched everything coldly.

They each held an account book in their hands, which recorded the increase in food prices today.

"I think the price of food will go up further."

"If the price rises too much, it may cause dissatisfaction among officials in the court."

Two wealthy businessmen were talking in the carriage, but the one who spoke first chuckled and said:

"As long as we manage the North Office and the South Office well, what can't be increased?"

"Later, you and I will each take some gold, silver and grain and go to the residences of the ministers and prime ministers in the Northern and Southern Offices. There will be no problem of not being able to sell the grain."

"Will this work?" The wealthy businessman on the other side hesitated, but was met with ridicule from the other side.

"As long as they provide enough money and food, these officials don't care about the lives of these untouchables!"

During the conversation, the two wealthy businessmen immediately decided to send gold, silver and grain to Wang Zongshi of Beisi and Lu Yanfu of Nanya respectively.

Wang Zongshi accepted all the advice, but Lu Yan tried to evade the request, and consoled them by saying that the soaring grain prices were due to the current situation and could not be stopped by human power.

As it seemed, his meaning was that he agreed with their move to raise grain prices, but his act of not collecting money or grain left many wealthy businessmen confused.

But even so, the price of grain in Chang'an and Guanzhong inevitably rose.

Faced with the soaring grain prices in the two capitals, even Li Yi, who did not like attending court, had to convene a regular court session.

All the officials gathered in the Purple Palace again, and Li Yi sat high on the golden platform. He looked calm on the surface, but was very nervous in his heart.

Although he was prepared for the consequences of attacking the rebellious soldiers, he still inevitably became nervous when things actually happened.

Feeling uneasy in his heart, he glanced at the officials in the hall and slowly asked:

"How long will it take to put down the rebellion of Pang Xun and Wang Xianzhi?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Yan, who was promoted to Tongpingzhangshi a few days ago and is currently serving as the Minister of War and Prime Minister, immediately stood out from the queue, bowed and saluted while speaking confidently:

"Your Majesty, in just one month, the towns will be able to put down this rebellion!"

"I'm afraid not!"

Faced with Lu Yan's confidence, Gao Qu, the Minister of War, stood up unceremoniously and sang a different tune from him.

Seeing the two men quarreling again, the court officials all looked at them sideways, and at this time Gao Qu also bowed to Li Yi with a solemn expression.

"Your Majesty, Pang Xun's Silver Blade Army and Wang Xianzhi's Tianping Rebellion Army are both cunning and treacherous."

"Right now, the towns have not yet engaged the rebels, so it is impossible to judge their true strength, let alone when the war will end."

Upon hearing this, the court officials nodded in agreement.

Most of them recognized Gao Qu's cautious attitude rather than Lu Yan's blind confidence.

Lu Yan felt the contemptuous gazes of the court officials and a surge of anger rose in his heart, but he suppressed his temper and continued to state his views to Li Yi.

"Your Majesty, I have a theory of three wins and three losses, which can prove that the government army will win and the enemy army will lose!" Lu Yan straightened his back and spoke in a sonorous and powerful tone.

"Please tell me, Prime Minister Lu..." Li Yi became interested, and Lu Yan immediately elaborated on his theory of three wins and three losses.

"The government troops are fully armed and well trained. This is their first victory."

"The government troops have sufficient food and grass, and the military governors of each town have military strategies. This is the second victory."

"The government troops are under the command of the imperial court, and the imperial court is headed by His Majesty. This is the third victory."

After talking about the three victories, he paused and continued, "On the other hand, the rebel army has many internal forces that are difficult to integrate, which is the first defeat."

"Wang Xianzhi and Pang Xun were both short-sighted. They stubbornly defended themselves against the government troops. This was their second defeat."

"The bandit army looted Xuzhou and Suzhou, but the counties of Xuzhou and Suzhou suffered from floods last year, and the local food and grass were insufficient. The bandit army must have difficulty in obtaining food and grass. This is the third defeat."

Lu Yan recounted his three wins and three losses, with a confident look on his face, as if the defeat of the enemy army was already before his eyes.

But before he could become proud, Gao Qu mercilessly poured a bucket of cold water on him.

"What Prime Minister Lu said is a bit too optimistic." Gao Qu said coldly:
"If the enemy army breaks through and turns into bandits, that would be the biggest threat to the imperial court."

"If all the prefectures and counties are looted and destroyed, it will inevitably affect this year's tax revenue."

"In addition, the Xuzhou-Suzhou area is not only an important waterway for grain transport, but also an important salt production area."

"Every day the war here continues, the court loses tens of thousands of people."

After he finished speaking, Gao Qu turned around and bowed to Li Yi, saying earnestly: "Your Majesty, I suggest sending people to recruit Wang Xianzhi and Pang Xun, granting them the post of provincial governors, and asking them to disband their tribes."

"This way, we can quell the war and reduce the losses of the imperial court."

Facing Gao Qu's words, Li Yi frowned and showed a little displeasure on his face.

He naturally knew that Gao Qu's suggestion was not without reason, but he felt proud as an emperor.

He could tolerate himself submitting to the three towns of Heshuo, and he could also bow to Liu Jilong of Helong, but he would never bow his head to the two "small bandits" of Wang Xianzhi and Pang Xun.

"If the bandits rebelled and were surrendered, wouldn't all the bandits in the world follow suit?"

Li Yi spoke coldly, with unquestionable majesty in his tone: "I still believe that the rebel army must be completely wiped out to serve as a warning to others!"

"Your Majesty..." Gao Qu tried to explain, but Li Yi looked directly at Jiang Shen:

"The Ministry of Revenue has allocated 700,000 strings of cash and sent Deputy Minister Zheng Ting to Guandong to reward the troops. We must encourage the soldiers and put down the rebellion as soon as possible!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shen immediately walked out and bowed to an official in his thirties at the back of the team, and accepted the order.

However, after receiving the imperial edict, Jiang Shen brought up the food problem in Guanzhong and Luoyang again.

"Your Majesty, the price of grain in the two capitals has skyrocketed, and the people are complaining."

"If food prices are not stabilized in time, it may lead to greater unrest."

Li Yi nodded and said without hesitation: "Order all prefectures and counties to open their granaries and release grain to stabilize grain prices, and strictly investigate those who hoard grain."

"Your Majesty is wise..."

The court officials all sang the salute, but each had their own thoughts in their hearts.

Jiang Shen had no choice but to continue bowing and said, "Your Majesty, the counties are short of food. It is not easy to stabilize the food prices in Chang'an, let alone in the counties."

"Right now, we can only transfer grain from Hedong and Jiannan, but the grain prices along the grain routes are not cheap. Once it arrives in Guanzhong, I'm afraid it won't be able to lower the grain prices too much."

"What can we do?" Li Yi frowned. He did not know the amount of grain stored in each county and the amount consumed in Chang'an.

Now that Jiang Shen has raised the problem and Li Yi is unable to solve it, he naturally has to ask his ministers.

Hearing this, Jiang Shen could only tentatively say: "Your Majesty, why not send officials to buy grain from Longyou to stabilize the grain price in Guanzhong..."

"What did you say?" Li Yi's face turned a little ugly.

Although he liked reading the stories written by Liu Jilong, he was still reluctant to have any contact with Liu Jilong.

Isn't it aiding the enemy to trade grain with Longyou?
As Longyou continues to grow stronger in the future, Guanzhong will inevitably suffer greatly.

"Your Majesty, this is a helpless move..." Jiang Shen sighed, feeling very helpless.

The Tang Dynasty was already plagued by problems. Although Huichang experienced a brief revival, the subsequent Dazhong period continued to increase taxes on the people in order to deal with the rebellions of Wang Shouwen, Qiu Fu, and the Dangxiang.

As a result, people were displaced, production in the Central Plains and the south of the Yangtze River was disrupted, and the amount of grain transported north was very limited.

In addition, the Tang Dynasty and the Dali fought a fierce battle in the southwest, causing the price of grain in Jiannan Road, where prices were usually stable, to soar.

Although the grain price in Jiannan Road fell briefly after Gao Pian's great victory, who knows when You Shilong will continue to use troops?

It was precisely because Jiang Shen knew all this that he had no choice but to suggest to the court to purchase grain from Longyou.

Li Yi saw Jiang Shen's helplessness. He knew in his heart that Jiannan and Hedong could not provide food, but he was too embarrassed to send people to trade with Liu Jilian.

He clenched his fists, but finally relaxed them helplessly, sighing inwardly. "Where are Yang Zhiwen, the Minister of Rites, and Zhang Huaiquan, the Commander of the Left Divine Army?"

"I'm here..."

In the team, Yang Zhiwen and Zhang Huaiquan walked out one after another, and Li Yi looked at Jiang Shen and asked, "How much money do the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Finance have left?"

"Your Majesty, there are more than 2.4 million strings of cash, and varying amounts of cloth, silk, and satin, probably worth a million strings of cash."

"Hmm..." Li Yi hesitated for a moment, then looked at Yang Zhiwen and Zhang Huaiquan and said:
"You two will be sent as envoys, and the Right Shenwu Army will be sent as guards to transport silk and satin to Longyou, and then buy food and fodder from Longyou and return. Do you understand?"

"The ministers and others lead the decree..."

Yang Zhiwen and Zhang Huaiquan bowed and saluted, and Li Yi's choice of them was the result of careful consideration.

Zhang Huaiquan is the eldest son of Zhang Yichao, so Liu Jilian would certainly not make things difficult for him. Yang Zhiwen is loyal to the court and has an old acquaintance with Liu Jilian, so naturally he would not be made difficult for him either.

If it weren't for the fact that Feng Bangyan and Zhang Yichao needed to stay in Chang'an as hostages, Li Yi would have sent these two people.

Thinking of this, Li Yi gradually calmed down, and then said to Jiang Shen:

"Until the grain from Longyou is purchased, all warehouses will not be open for business."

"I accept the decree..."

Li Yu was not sure whether Liu Jilian would sell grain. What if he did not sell grain, and the grain in the granary in the capital was used to stabilize the grain price? Wouldn't that be just watching the granaries in the capital become empty?
Therefore, before the grain from Longyou was transported to Guanzhong, he would not consider releasing grain from the Beijing warehouse to stabilize the grain price.

While he was thinking this, he saw Tian Yun appear at the main gate of Zichen Hall, and he looked a little anxious.

"Your Majesty, I have something to report..."

Tian Yun bowed anxiously, attracting the attention of all the ministers in the hall.

"allow!"

Li Yi nodded. Seeing this, Tian Yun quickly walked into the hall, then walked onto the golden platform and bowed respectfully to Li Yi, saying:

"Your Majesty, news just came from Xuanyangfang that Prime Minister Pei died of illness in his palace..."

After Tian Yun finished speaking, Li Yi was stunned.

Not only him, many officials in the palace who heard it were stunned and looked regretful.

After all, Pei Xiu was a descendant of Li Deyu and a capable minister who was somewhat capable of making some progress in the grain transport and financial reforms.

Although the effect was far from saving the Tang Dynasty, it was still admirable.

"Pass on my decree, suspend court for three days, and posthumously confer him the title of Grand Commandant and Marquis of Hedong County..."

After taking a deep breath, Li Yi finally gave Pei Xiu the treatment he deserved. At the same time, he said to Tian Yun, "Does Master Fahai know about this?"

"I don't know for now..." Tian Yun shook his head.

Before he became a monk, Zen Master Fahai was the eldest son of Prime Minister Pei Xiu, and his secular name was Pei Wende.

Ten years ago, he went to Runzhou in the south of the Yangtze River and renamed the Zexin Temple to Jinshan Temple after renovating it. When he heard that a white python had injured people during the renovation of Jinshan Temple, he subdued the white python with his Zen stick and drove it into the Yangtze River, allowing the people of Runzhou to live and work in peace.

In recent years, Li Yi has been obsessed with Buddhism and has invited Fahai to Chang'an several times but to no avail.

Now he asked Tian Yun because he wanted to take advantage of the news of Pei Xiu's death to invite Fahai to Chang'an to perform a ritual and discuss Buddhism with him.

"Tell this to Master Fahai, and ask him to come to Chang'an to perform a ritual for Prime Minister Pei."

"Yes……"

Tian Yun agreed, and Li Yi sighed and then turned his gaze to Gao Qu.

"The position of prime minister is indispensable. Today, Gao Qu, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War, is promoted to co-prime minister and will go south to work with the other prime ministers..."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!"

Gao Qu bowed and saluted, while Lu Yan had an unpleasant expression on his face.

Gao Qu had always liked to make things difficult for him, and now that he had entered the Southern Court, he would probably continue to make things difficult for him.

The emperor probably did this because he was worried about himself and wanted to use Gao Qu to check and balance him...

Thinking of this, Lu Yan felt as if he was holding back a breath, and he didn't know how to let it out.

"Sanchao..."

"Tens of millions of years old!"

As Li Yi walked down the golden platform, all the ministers bowed and sang salutes. Only after Li Yi disappeared did the ministers leave the Purple Palace.

Zhang Yitan is too old and has not attended court since he fell seriously ill three years ago.

The imperial court kept him only to use him as a hostage in Hexi.

Therefore, after Zhang Yichao left the court, he could only go home with Zhang Huaiquan. As for Zhang Huaiding, he stayed in the outer court and was responsible for the outer court's duty and guarding.

The two of them took a car back to Xuanyangfang Mansion and saw Pei Xiu's mansion on the way.

Seeing that the people in Pei Mansion were already in mourning, Zhang Yichao couldn't help but sigh: "When a person dies, his soul returns to his hometown, and fallen leaves return to their roots. I wonder if you and I, father and son, can still return to Shazhou..."

"Father, why do we go back to Shazhou?" Zhang Huaiquan is now nearly forty years old, but he is more materialistic and less honest than before.

"After all, this is our hometown..." Zhang Yichao sighed, knowing what Zhang Huaiquan was thinking.

Ever since Zhang Huaiding was awarded the title of General Shenwu for his merit in following the emperor, Zhang Huaiquan's status has also risen.

With the 1,500 Zuo Shenwu soldiers under his command, even the eunuchs from the Northern Division had to politely address him as General Zhang when they saw him.

"The people are suffering, don't make it too difficult for them..."

Zhang Yichao suddenly sighed and said, Zhang Huaiquan nodded quickly: "Don't worry, Father, we will only accept the bribes from those merchants."

The brothers Zhang Huaiding and Zhang Huaiquan were not stupid and knew the importance of military power, so they treated their soldiers very well.

However, the court's military pay was not enough to win people's hearts, nor was it enough for the two of them to spend, so they often accepted bribes from merchants.

Zhang Yichao tried to persuade him, but it didn't work.

People say “When a girl grows up, she cannot be kept at home”, but they don’t mention “When a boy grows up, his father finds it difficult to control him”.

Zhang Yichao is getting old and can no longer control them.

All he could do now was to restrain them with words, hoping in his heart that they would not bring disaster to the Zhang family.

Fortunately, there are Liu Jilian and Zhang Huaishen in Helong. Even if someone in the court wants to deal with his two sons, they will at least consider Zhang Huaishen and others in Helong and dare not go too far.

With this in mind, Zhang Yichao reminded Zhang Huaiquan, "When you and Yang Zhiwen go to Longyou this time, don't show off your status, understand?"

"Don't worry, Father. I dare not show off in front of Liu Jilong."

Zhang Huaiquan was still aware of the gap between him and Liu Jilian. After all, he had seen the military strength of Longyou before.

Now people in the court say that there are 50,000 to 60,000 strong soldiers in Longyou, but he is just the left divine military commander with only 1,500 armored soldiers under his command. How dare he show off in front of Liu Jilian?

"Situ, we are here..."

The carriage stopped, the driver took down the stool, and helped Zhang Yichao and Zhang Huaiquan get off the carriage.

The two men walked towards the mansion, but heard the sound of horse hooves behind them.

"Aye, brother, wait for me!"

Zhang Huaiding's voice rang out, and the two turned around and saw Zhang Huaiding, wearing a purple robe, dismounting from the horse and throwing the reins to the coachman.

"Father, I heard that brother and Yang Zhiwen are going to Longyou. There are some things I need to explain to brother."

Zhang Huaiding was full of commercialism and hypocrisy, which made Zhang Yichao frown slightly. He could only remind him: "Don't do anything reckless and harm your brother."

"Father, what are you talking about?" Zhang Huaiding was a little embarrassed, but Zhang Yichao ignored him and just looked at Zhang Huaiquan:
"Come to your uncle later. I have a handwritten letter that I need you to deliver to Mu Zhi for me."

"Yes..." Zhang Huaiquan responded respectfully, and then saw Zhang Yichao walk into Zhang Yitan's mansion first.

Seeing his father leaving, Zhang Huaiquan looked at Zhang Huaiding and said, "Erlang, what do you want me to do?"

"Help me deliver this handwritten letter to Liu Jilong. Don't worry, brother. I won't harm you."

Zhang Huaiding took out a handwritten letter, and Zhang Huaiquan put it in his arms without thinking, and then asked: "What did you write?"

Zhang Huaiding didn't expect Zhang Huaiquan to ask him, but he still explained:

"Although you and I have the Shenwu Army, it only has 3,000 soldiers after all, which is still inferior to the Shen Ce Army."

"If you and I want to move up, we have no choice but to train helpers in the outer court."

"Although I am jealous of my elder brother and Liu Jilong, they are the only two people who can help you and me."

"Just give the letter to Liu Jilong, and he will naturally write back to me after reading it."

After Zhang Huaiding finished speaking, Zhang Huaiquan did not doubt it and nodded, saying, "Since there is nothing else, I will go find Aye first."

"Go ahead. I'm also going back to the palace to take up my duties."

Zhang Huaiding nodded and watched Zhang Huaiquan leave. Then he took the reins from the coachman, mounted the horse and rushed to the Daming Palace.

In just a quarter of an hour, he rode his horse back to Jianfu Gate, dismounted and walked into the palace.

"General!"

The soldiers of the Shenwu Army stationed at Jianfu Gate bowed and saluted. He nodded in response and cast his eyes towards the palace inside Jianfu Gate.

Many actors and musicians were rushing to the Xianning Palace, and their figures made Zhang Huaiding look disdainful.

The so-called Son of Heaven is nothing more than a person who listens to music and watches plays.

If he had not been supported by Wang Zongshi and others, he would have been just a wise king. How could he be called the Son of Heaven?

Thinking that he was now only a general of great power, and was far inferior to Wang Zongshi, Wang Maoxuan and others, Zhang Huaiding felt unwilling to accept this.

"If I have the help of Helong, why can't I follow Wang Zongshi's example and support the prince in the future and take all the credit for following the emperor?"

While thinking, Zhang Huaiding's mind had already flown to the letter on Zhang Huaiquan's body...

(End of this chapter)