Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 79 Zhang Yu is imprisoned
The first month of the third year of Zhongping.

Within a month, after Zhang Yu and Wang Chen paid a visit and offered millions of dollars as management fees, Mrs. Cheng finally agreed to help Zhang Yu.

After Madam Cheng arranged for the eunuch Xia Yun and his frequent visits to the palace, Liu Hong promised to visit Madam Cheng's house when he was free in the first month of the year.

In front of Madam Cheng's house, the emperor's grand carriage stopped in front of the house gate, and Madam Cheng led everyone in the house to kneel to welcome him.

With the help of the maids on both sides, Liu Hongshun stepped down from the carriage, raised his hands slightly, and said, "No need to be polite!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Madam Cheng stood up, picked up her skirt, and went forward to greet Liu Hong, saying with a smile: "Your Majesty has become more heroic after not seeing you for a few days."

"Ha ha!"

Liu Hong smiled and said, "I'm so bored in the palace. Today, I'm invited by Mother Fu to go out of the palace and sit in her house."

Madam Cheng extended her hand and said with a smile, "I know that Your Majesty is out of the palace, so I cooked a meat soup for Your Majesty today. I hope Your Majesty will not despise my poor cooking skills."

Liu Hong looked nostalgic and said, "When I was young in Jie Du Pavilion, I loved the meat soup cooked by my mother. The meat soup with Hu Bing was a must."

During the first few days of the first lunar month, there were many banquets in the palace, and Liu Hong was bored with eating. However, the meat soup and Hu pancakes cooked by Madam Cheng today aroused Liu Hong's interest.

Mrs. Cheng naturally guessed what Liu Hong was thinking, and she would always cook the dishes that Liu Hong wanted to eat when he was young. This was also one of the few things that Mrs. Cheng valued.

Madam Cheng may seem rich now, but she is much worse than Liu Hong's wet nurse Zhao Rao. She has a lot of wealth and honor only because of some favors, but it is difficult for her wealth to last. She saw with her own eyes that Zhao Rao was named the Lord of Pingshi, but after her death, the Zhao family quickly declined.

In order to maintain her wealth, she tried her best to make friends with the powerful and influential. Out of a favor, Mrs. Cheng agreed to help Zhang Yu.

Madam Cheng took Liu Hong's arm affectionately and said with a smile, "I have prepared a great gift for Your Majesty at home."

"Oh?"

Liu Hong was slightly interested and asked, "I wonder what it is?"

Madam Cheng pretended to be mysterious and said with a smile, "Your Majesty will know when you enter the palace!"

"go!"

Surrounded by the crowd, Liu Hong slowly walked into the mansion and chatted with Mrs. Cheng about the troubles of the recent days. The attendants served on both sides, following Liu Hong step by step.

When they entered the central hall, Mrs. Cheng had someone serve meat soup and Hu cakes, and took out a jade spoon specially for Liu Hong to enjoy.

Liu Hong enjoyed the meat soup and felt that the taste was no different from before. He smiled and said, "The taste of the meat soup is still the same. Mother Fu is thoughtful!"

Madam Cheng broke a Hu pancake for Liu Hong and said with a smile, "I added some honey to the Hu pancake. Your Majesty, please try it and see how it tastes."

"Hmm~"

The crispness of the Hu pancake and the sweetness of the honey water blended together, making Liu Hong nod his head and say with a smile: "Adding honey water to the Hu pancake will make it more delicious than ordinary Hu pancakes."

"As long as your majesty likes it!"

Mrs. Cheng had a kind smile, and she loved Liu Hong very much, having taken care of him since he was a child.

After saying this, Madam Cheng winked at the attendant and asked him to go back and inform Zhang Yu.

After eating a few bites, before Madam Cheng could speak, Liu Hong remembered this incident and asked, "Mother Fu said she had a great gift for me. What is it?"

Madam Cheng pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "There are things, and there are people."

"What? Who?" Liu Hong asked.

"It represents the will of the people and is a loyal minister of the country."

Madam Cheng had no intention of keeping the secret, so she said with a smile, "Your Majesty, please meet me!"

"allow!"

After a while, Zhang Yu was seen leading the way, with Guo Tu and Wang Chen holding the yellow brocade and red silk "Wanmin Umbrella" as they entered.

The Wanmin Umbrella is about six feet high, with a huge canopy and two layers of tassels hanging under the canopy. If you look closely, you can see the writing on the canopy.

Such a large umbrella instantly attracted Liu Hong's attention, and he asked curiously, "What is it?"

Madam Cheng glanced at Zhang Yu with her beautiful eyes, and said according to the content she had arranged before, "Your Majesty, you may not know that this item is the Umbrella for the People. It is signed by the people of Yuzhou to commemorate the achievements of the governor of Yuzhou in governing the people."

"I came across this item by chance when I was strolling in the market in the first month of the year. It was strange, so I asked about its origin!"

"Umbrella of the people!"

Liu Hong's expression moved slightly. He walked closer to the Wanmin Umbrella and slid his hand across the tasseled cloth. There were different words on it, which were obviously tattooed by different people.

Grabbing the thin strip, Liu Hong looked closely and saw the words "Xin Bofa of Yangdi Xin Clan". He then looked at the other thin strips and saw the words "Zhang Zijian, the Third Elder of Yingshui Pavilion".

"Your Majesty, the elders of Yuzhou learned that Envoy Wang of Yuzhou was wrongfully imprisoned and has not been pardoned until now. Thinking of Envoy Wang's achievements in governing the state, the elders cried for him and made an umbrella of ten thousand people and presented it to Your Majesty, asking Your Majesty to pardon Envoy Wang." Mrs. Cheng said.

"Wang Yun, the governor of Yuzhou?"

Liu Hong's expression changed slightly again, revealing an unfathomable look. "Your Majesty!"

Zhang Yu spied on Liu Hong's expression, and found an opportunity to bow and said, "Since Wang Yuzhou took office, he has never forgotten the dangers of the country. He first assisted General Huangfu and General Zhu in fighting the bandits and appeased more than 100,000 Yellow Turbans who surrendered in Yuzhou. After the war in Yuzhou was over, Wang Yuzhou worked hard to restore production in the counties of Yuzhou and rectify the administration of officials."

"Now the people of Yuzhou have heard that the envoy has been detained in the imperial prison and has not been pardoned, and they are all sad and sighing, so they are like an umbrella to Your Majesty, begging Your Majesty to pardon Wang Yuzhou's crimes in consideration of his meritorious service in governing the people."

Liu Hong took a closer look and said, "It is difficult for people to unite. There must be someone who started it. I wonder who came up with this umbrella?"

"Your Majesty, I will order it to be made!"

Guo Tu knelt down and said, "I am a former official of Wang Yuzhou. Seeing that Yuzhou could not be pardoned, I had no choice but to come up with this umbrella of the people. I am willing to offer this umbrella together with the people of Yuzhou in exchange for Wang Yuzhou's life."

"His Majesty!"

Zhang Yu bowed and said, "Wang Yuzhou is upright, honest, and loves the people. He is concerned about state affairs and often makes enemies with corrupt officials. If he has offended Your Majesty in the past, I hope Your Majesty will pity him for his merits."

Liu Hong frowned slightly and asked, "Who are you?"

"Your Majesty, I am Zhang Yu, the magistrate of Zheng County, a former official of the Yuzhou governor, and I am related by marriage to Wang Yuzhou." Zhang Yu said with a normal expression.

"Zheng County Magistrate?"

Liu Hong muttered to himself, and then asked, "Since you are a county magistrate from another place, how dare you show up in Luoyang? Don't you fear the law? Moreover, you are related to Wang Yuzhou by marriage, and you presented this umbrella to the people. Isn't it suspected of being fake?"

Zhang Yu said, "The Book of Filial Piety teaches the way of loyalty and filial piety. Wang Yuzhou is my lord. Now my lord is in trouble. How dare I forget it? Even if I face death, I will not regret it."

"Because of our in-laws, Yu privately took Qi Xi's case as a lesson. Qi Xi once appointed his enemy Jie Hu as the leader. When Jie Hu died of illness, Qi Xi appointed his son Qi Wu as the leader. Now the affairs of the country are of utmost importance, regardless of enemies or relatives. Wang Yuzhou and I are all like this!"

"I was originally a frontier boy, good at archery and horse riding, and knowledgeable in scriptures. Fortunately, I was favored by the former governor of Hongnong, Wang Jun, and was recruited as a son-in-law. When I was about to get married, I heard that the Yellow Turbans had risen up, so I responded to Wang Yuzhou's call for recruitment, left my fiancée behind, and led my troops on a journey of thousands of miles."

"I went to Changsha to deliver a letter to the army. I went down to Huabei to help Zhao Runan defeat the bandits. Now I am appointed as the magistrate of Zheng County. As for my achievements, I have no regrets. Now I am offering the Ten Thousand People Umbrella. To be honest, although I have some selfish motives, I have more public motives. If I had a guilty conscience, how could I dare to meet the emperor here?"

Liu Hong remained silent and sat back on the couch.

He had an impression of Wang Yun, but it was not a deep impression. He knew more about Wang Yun through what his attendants told him, rather than having summoned him in person.

He was imprisoned twice and the three ministers asked for pardon twice, which shows that Wang Yun was not bad and had made some achievements. But now seeing the umbrella of the people, and if what they said was true, it means that his assessment of Wang Yun was wrong, and maybe Wang Yun was really a good official for the country and the people.

Seeing the opportunity, Madam Cheng came to Liu Hong's side and whispered, "I often hear your majesty say that there are no good officials in the country, so I keep it in mind and want to recommend virtuous people to your majesty. Now that Wang Yun has the support of the people of Yuzhou, doesn't it mean that Wang Yun is a minister of the country? If your majesty ignores it, you may lose the support of the people!"

After a pause, he added: "If Your Majesty has doubts, it would be better to summon Wang Yun and talk to him to see if he is just a man of empty reputation. If he is a minister of justice, it can be regarded as a 'great courtesy', and it will not be in vain for my sincere heart."

"Thank you for your concern, Mother Fu!"

Liu Hong patted Madam Cheng's hand and said with satisfaction: "I am very lucky that Madam Fu can be so sensible."

"The will of the people cannot be violated!"

Liu Hong sighed, stood up and said, "I will understand Wang Yuzhou's affairs clearly and will never go against the will of the people."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The three of them knelt down and bowed.

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Yu said solemnly, "Your Majesty, I left my post without the order of the court. I beg Your Majesty to make a decision on my fate."

"Ok?"

Zhang Yu's sudden behavior of asking for punishment surprised everyone present. No normal person would voluntarily accept punishment.

Guo Tu and Wang Chen were both surprised and didn't understand why Zhang Yu asked to punish himself.

Mrs. Cheng was also confused. This scene was not included in the script arranged by her brother.

Zhang Yu didn't care about the surprise of several people. In fact, he took the initiative to ask for punishment as part of Wanmin Umbrella's plan to make a name for himself.

Because the Wanmin Umbrella was used to commemorate Wang Yun's achievements, it was difficult for those who presented the umbrella to stand out. If they wanted to attract attention, they had to create a sense of contrast.

Where does the sense of contrast come from?

The best way is to do the opposite of Wang Yun's deeds. Wang Yun was released from prison because he was loved by the people, while Zhang Yu was imprisoned because he saved Wang Yun and left his post without permission.

With the contrast, there was naturally a lot of discussion, and Zhang Yu's deeds also became known to people.

Liu Hong narrowed his eyes and asked, "Zheng County Magistrate Zhang Yu?"

"Exactly!"

"it is good!"

Liu Hong waved his hand and ordered, "Zheng County Magistrate Zhang Yu came to the capital without an imperial edict. He will be taken to the imperial prison and await the judgment of the Supreme Court."

"promise!"

Zhang Yu stood up fearlessly and followed the guards out of the hall.

Guo Tu, Wang Chen and Mrs. Cheng were stunned. Wang Yun had not been rescued yet, and now another person was lost!

(End of this chapter)