Chapter 58
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After saying this, the Shangshu of the Ministry of Revenue was punished and was driven out of the palace by His Majesty.
Gu Yuanbai felt quite refreshed after scolding the Shangshu of the Ministry of Revenue. He looked at the carts of grain and money, as well as various donations, and couldn’t help but praise Chang Yuyan again in his heart. This guy was indeed a treasure.
The power of the pen was not inferior to that of a sharp weapon.
He ordered, “Transfer Chang Yuyan to the Ministry of State Affairs and let the Assistant Minister of State Affairs choose an experienced minister to mentor him.”
Tian Fusheng said, “Yes.”
Gu Yuanbai pondered for a moment and said, “After they come back, we should also reward them according to their merits.”
Tian Fusheng smiled and said, “Lord Xue is also coming back. Don’t say it, but after not seeing Lord Xue for more than a month, this little one is still somewhat eager to see him.”
“You miss him?” Gu Yuanbai couldn’t help but smirk, “Tian Fusheng, I am looking at you with new eyes.”
Tian Fusheng said, “It’s just because Lord Xue has such great courage. Except for me and Lord Zhang, only Lord Xue dares to advise His Majesty to eat and rest.”
Gu Yuanbai smiled slightly, “But Xue Yuan is so talented that it’s a bit of a waste for him to stay by my side.”
He casually said, “When they come back, we’ll reward them for their merits. Transfer him to the court or put him in charge of the various guards in the Imperial Army. It’s not considered a loss of his ability.”
“In any case,” the Emperor concluded, “don’t bother me.”
With desire rising momentarily, the kiss dominated by testosterone also had a hint of testing, and Gu Yuanbai could forget about it when he said so. But he was afraid that Xue Yuan couldn’t, so it was better for him to leave sooner rather than later.
After knowing that Xue Yuan had no feelings for him either, Gu Yuanbai was still quite pleased. He had to keep Xue Yuan in this state of mind.
The Emperor was smiling, but the meaning behind his words seemed to show disdain towards Xue Yuan. Tian Fusheng couldn’t discern the deeper meaning, feeling like walking beside the Emperor was like walking beside a tiger. He respectfully said, “I will remember.”
Once Chang Yuyan received his reward, he was transferred to the Ministry of State Affairs. On the day of his transfer, he was truly all smiles, looking dashing and debonair as he walked proudly to the Ministry of State Affairs.
The Assistant Minister of State Affairs assigned Chang Yuyan to an experienced official, who gave him a brief tour of the Ministry of State Affairs. After a simple introduction to the scope of the ministry’s affairs, the official said, “The affairs of the Ministry of State Affairs are extremely busy. Since you are talented, you will first work in the newly established the Great Heng Daily. Adapt with me for ten days, and after ten days, you can start working on your own.”
Chang Yuyan politely replied, “Yes.”
The affairs of the Ministry of State Affairs were indeed extremely busy. Chang Yuyan felt that he was quite shallow before being transferred here. In the Great Heng Daily Department, it seemed that every official had the ability to discern numerous hidden meanings and power balances from various articles and memorials. Often, Chang Yuyan found the articles and memorials extremely headache-inducing and incomprehensible, but when they were handed over to the old official who was guiding him, it only took a moment to review them.
With his pride, Chang Yuyan buried himself in learning. Finally, within ten days, he was able to handle these affairs on his own.
Coincidentally, after these ten days passed, Gu Yuanbai personally came to the Ministry of State Affairs to inspect.
After raising his head from the administrative affairs, Chang Yuyan saw the Emperor and the Assistant Minister of State Affairs walking past him with smiles. Chang Yuyan’s heart tightened, quickly lowering his head. Although he saw nothing but administrative affairs in front of him, he couldn’t focus on them.
The Assistant Minister of State Affairs happened to see him and remembered Chang Yuyan had written an article that garnered many donations for the court. He had high hopes for this young man and smiled, saying, “How are the administrative affairs going today, Lord Chang?”
Chang Yuyan stood up and saluted, “Half of them have been completed.”
Gu Yuanbai picked up a memorial that he had already read, and after reading the corrections and annotations on it, he nodded slightly and said, “Well done.”
Chang Yuyan replied modestly, “I am humbled, far from being comparable to the esteemed officials.”
The Emperor chuckled, and the Assistant Minister of State Affairs also chuckled twice. Gu Yuanbai put down the memorial and continued to walk inside with the high-ranking officials.
Chang Yuyan let out a sigh of relief, feeling calmer after sitting down. He realized how nervous he had been before. Thinking back to when he first saw the Emperor, he was amazed by His Majesty’s appearance. But later, seeing him again, it was not just his beauty anymore.
The Majesty’s dignity became even more imposing, making people dare not even have a blasphemous thought. In the capital, the reputation of the Chu family and its son spread far and wide. If His Majesty were not the Emperor, he would have overshadowed the fame of the Chu family.
Chang Yuyan’s thoughts drifted for a moment before he quickly pulled them back. He continued to lower his head and review the administrative affairs on his desk, but his mind was elsewhere.
As the Assistant Minister of State Affairs and Gu Yuanbai walked and talked, they discussed the results of their recent busy activities. “Your Majesty, this is the amount sent from Jinghunan and Jiangnan after clearing up,” the Assistant Minister of State Affairs said.
Gu Yuanbai looked through the confiscated wealth of the wealthy households in these two regions and sighed, “The treasury can’t contain it all.”
“I never expected the assets of the wealthy to be so abundant,” the Assistant Minister of State Affairs said with a solemn expression. “Based on the number of fertile fields, middle-class fields, and inferior fields cleared, the taxes previously paid from Jinghunan and Jiangnan accounted for only thirty percent of their total wealth.”
Gu Yuanbai nodded without much surprise. “It’s often said that Jiangnan is the land of fish and rice, the granary and moneybag of the court. But look at it now, they only paid thirty percent of their taxes.”
“Such is the case for Jiangnan and Jinghunan alone, not to mention other places,” Gu Yuanbai sighed. “Thousands of fertile fields have been swallowed by one family, and one family pays taxes on hundreds of acres. The issue of hidden land in our dynasty is severe.”
The Assistant Minister of State Affairs was worried, “But if the rebels in Jinghunan and Jiangnan strike again, it might cause public unrest.”
Gu Yuanbai smiled, “Where are there so many rebels?”
After saying this, he changed the subject, and the Assistant Minister of State Affairs obediently stopped asking. After they left the Ministry of State Affairs, Gu Yuanbai got into his carriage. Half-asleep, he heard Tian Fusheng outside saying, “Your Majesty, the two officials who went to clear out the rebels have returned.”
Originally, after the great victory, Xue Yuan and General Dingyuan were supposed to immediately rush to the capital. However, the garrison troops couldn’t stay for long, and the officials from both regions had not yet returned from out of town. There was a mess to clean up, so they could only let them stay put with ten thousand soldiers and wait for the court to come clean up the mess.
By the time Chang Yuyan’s article reached Jiangnan, Xue Yuan had been trapped there for almost a month.
When the soldier delivered the article to him, Xue Yuan had just finished practicing with General Dingyuan. The heat on his body made the air distort. He threw his weapons aside and washed his face before picking up the article to read.
General Dingyuan asked, “What is it about?”
Xue Yuan read it softly, “His Majesty hears of the hardship, but regrets his inability to govern.”
His gaze was fixed on the word “His Majesty”. With just this simple sentence, he could imagine Gu Yuanbai’s expression. Would he furrow his brows out of pity for the common people? Had he gained weight or lost weight in these thirty-odd days without seeing him?
Was he sick?
After a long time, Xue Yuan sighed and rolled up the article, tucking it into his sleeve.
The intensity of his longing grew stronger day by day. After more than a month, this kind of longing settled down, like wild grass clinging to every nerve of Xue Yuan. Whenever he thought of Gu Yuanbai, this wild grass would overshadow everything.
Heavy and profound, it seemed calm on the surface, but each thought gradually became a flood that submerged Xue Yuan’s entire being.
General Dingyuan smiled, “The articles from the capital have arrived. I suppose the people from the capital aren’t far away either.”
Xue Yuan smirked, “About time.”
Along with the two officials returning to the capital, there were also ten thousand soldiers escorting important figures from the rebel army.
These individuals were dressed in prisoner’s clothes, their hands and feet in shackles, and their heads in wooden stocks, secured on prisoner carts.
The Imperial Guards are divided into two parts, southeast and southwest, and there is also an internal and external division. The internal division refers to the Imperial Guards stationed inside the palace to safeguard its security, while there are dedicated places outside for housing these Imperial Guards. The combined total of the Imperial Guards from the north and south exceeds two hundred thousand, yet the common people seldom see them. However, when the Imperial Guards arrived in batches from outside to enter the capital for the crackdown on the rebel forces, it did startle the common folk.
The people on both sides looked eagerly respectful, but also fearful. However, when they turned to look at the rebel soldiers in the prisoner’s cart, their expressions turned fierce and disgusted.
Zhao Zhou lowered his head in embarrassment, avoiding eye contact with the people on both sides. In front of him was Xu Xiongyuan, in a similarly sorry state. And beside them rode Liu Yan, who had specially accompanied them.
Xu Xiongyuan had been cursing at Liu Yan all the way, although he had already exhausted his voice and energy. But seeing the disdainful looks from the surrounding people, his sensitive nerves were once again provoked, “Liu Yan, you are truly worse than pigs, dogs, and beasts!”
Ding Yan smiled slightly, and a cavalryman angrily scolded Xu Xiongyuan, then turned to Ding Yan, “Shall we shut his mouth so as not to dirty the Lord’s ears with foul language again?”
“No need for that,” Ding Yan, under the alias Liu Yan, said calmly, “It is said that even the words of a dying man are wise. We should allow those about to die to speak their last words of wisdom.”
The cavalryman laughed heartily, “Rightly said, Sir.”
Xu Xiongyuan was so enraged that his face turned red. Suddenly, he spat at Ding Yan. Ding Yan dodged it and brushed his clothes, “What kind of beast spits at people?”
Zhao Zhou, mixed with resentment and endless regret, said, “Is it you who manipulated the rise in grain prices in Jiangnan, and even the mining activities in the entire province of Jinghunan?”
Ding Yan replied, “Mr. Zhao’s words are incomprehensible to Liu.”
Zhao Zhou almost burst with anger again.
In the Supervision Bureau, the officials were enjoying themselves, while Xue Yuan and General Dingyuan stepped out of the city under the watchful eyes of the people.
They were still wearing armor, and eunuchs were waiting for them in front of the palace gates. As the two dismounted, the eunuchs helped them remove their armor and swords.
The eunuch overseeing this process looked familiar to Xue Yuan, presumably someone from the Emperor’s side. Speaking of the Emperor, Xue Yuan said, “Is His Majesty going to receive us now?”
He seemed not in a hurry to see Gu Yuanbai, just occasionally glancing towards the palace, his eyes as deep as mist.
The eunuch smiled and said, “The two generals have traveled far and worked hard. After meeting His Majesty, you can rest well at home.”
General Dingyuan laughed heartily, “This is what we should do. What are we waiting for? Please lead us into the palace for an audience with His Majesty.”
Xue Yuan also smiled and said calmly, “As General Dingyuan said.”
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