Chapter 8: Aftermath

In the imperial palace.

Emperor Tianyuan, who was worried about the defeat at the front, had his face turned green after listening to Prince Fu's narrative.

He was already worried enough, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, whom he regarded as his right-hand man, jumped out to poke trouble for him.

As a secret service agency and law enforcement agency, it is understandable to be a bit rough, but it must have a limit.

This time it is a negative example, not to mention accidentally injuring a large number of commoners, but also losing seven Prince's Mansion guards.

If it weren't for good luck, there was a Hanzhong Guard Commander in the teahouse who came to the capital to take office, it's possible that his own younger brother would have fallen into the hands of the thieves.

"Imperial brother, I have already understood the process of the matter, you go down and rest first.

Today's unprovoked disaster, I will definitely give you an explanation!"

Emperor Tianyuan said with a tired face.

"Imperial brother, take care of your dragon body!

My matter is not urgent, anyway, nothing happened, you don't have to take it to heart."

Prince Fu advised immediately.

Cleaning up a few Embroidered Uniform Guard pawns doesn't need the emperor to take action; the memorials of impeachment from the censors can make these people eat and walk around.

Running to the imperial palace to complain is mainly because today's matter is too big, and as a party involved, he must show his stance.

"Hmm, I know!"

Emperor Tianyuan nodded slightly.

In normal times, this good elder brother would definitely appease his younger brother well, but not today.

The defeat in Liaodong is waiting for him to handle the aftermath; compared to this, the small matter of the Embroidered Uniform Guard's dereliction of duty is not worth mentioning at all.

Just after leaving the Imperial Study, Prince Fu bumped into the Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander who was rushing to plead guilty.

"Gu Yuansong, Commander Gu, you are rushing on the road like this, what do you want to do?"

Prince Fu asked unpleasantly.

The younger brother makes trouble, the boss takes the blame.

A Embroidered Uniform Guard commander who is destined to be unlucky is not worth him lowering his status to target.

Even if he wants to tear, he should tear with the Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander; this is worthy of his status.

"Prince, please forgive me!

Today's matter is that the people below are ignorant, and I have already arranged for people to investigate thoroughly.

After the results are found, I will definitely come to your door personally to plead guilty.

It's just that the military situation is urgent now, I must see the Emperor immediately, please forgive me for any neglect!"

Knowing that the person in front of him is not easy to provoke, Gu Yuansong decisively softened.

Seeing this scene, Prince Fu frowned.

The person in front of him is ultimately the Emperor's confidant; if he makes things too absolute, everyone's face will not look good.

If Gu Yuansong chose to steel himself to the end, he would definitely return the color.

But people came up to apologize, and he was embarrassed to continue targeting.

"Remember to manage the people under your hand well; I don't want to see similar things happen again!"

At dusk, dragging his tired body back to the Hou Fu, Li Yuan's mood was very heavy.

As one of the core figures of the noble group, he was the most opposed to military reform before; now that the front line is defeated, he is the one who most hopes that the reform can succeed.

Military reform certainly damaged the interests of the nobles, but for the country, it was of great benefit.

Li Yuan has read history books and knows very well what a combat-capable army means to a country.

Emperor Tianyuan was able to complete the military reform, besides his own strong political means, it was also because the noble group's opposition was not firm enough.

The interests of both sides were bound too thoroughly, completely prospering together and suffering together.

Of course, the change in mentality also had to do with Emperor Tianyuan's heart-to-heart talk.

Influenced by Confucian culture since childhood, the concept of the monarch as the minister's guide has long been deeply rooted in the bones.

The emperor has already admitted his mistake in private, so the unpleasantness of the past ends here.

Next, it's time to clean up the mess.

"Marquis, today Mu'er..."

Before the Marquis's wife could finish, Li Yuan waved his hand and interrupted:

"I know everything about the matter.

Just now in the imperial palace, His Majesty mentioned his name, and I specifically sent someone to check it.

Today's matter was purely an accident, but Mu'er has also entered His Majesty's line of sight ahead of schedule this time.

This matter relates to the face of the imperial court and needs to be handled in a low-key manner; it is not convenient to give public awards.

After he enters office, the royal family will give compensation.

Later, I will remind Mu'er to pay attention to handling the relationship with Prince Fu."

Vassal kings are a special existence in the Great Dayu Dynasty.

They cannot be offended, and they cannot be approached.

Emperor Tianyuan promoted the reform of the imperial clan, to a large extent, because he was angered by this group of guys who didn't live up to expectations.

Either bullying men and women in the fief, or robbing, the local officials couldn't afford to provoke them.

The most pitfall is that this group of guys carried the infamy themselves, but the bulk of the benefits fell into the hands of local big clans.

The Lu King case in previous years was a typical example.

Relying on robbing, he occupied 40,000 hectares of good farmland and went to engage in private salt trading, causing local tax revenue to almost collapse.

After the matter became big, Emperor Tianyuan decided to kill the Lu King to warn others.

He thought he could make a fortune to alleviate the imperial court's financial predicament, but when he checked the family property, he found that the annual income of the Prince's Mansion on the account was only 40,000 taels of silver.

Without considering the income from commerce, all amortized to land rent, the average annual income of good farmland per hectare was only one tael of silver.

In-depth investigation revealed that local gentry bribed the Prince's Mansion's long history and hung the illegally annexed land under the Prince's Mansion's name to avoid the imperial court's accountability.

The infamy was carried by the Lu King, but the bulk of the benefits were taken by others, and even the income of the long history in the Prince's Mansion was higher than his.

For a time, the name of the muddled king directly resounded throughout the Great Dayu Dynasty.

Emperor Tianyuan was so angry that he dragged all the officials in the Prince's Mansion out and beheaded them, and sent this muddled Lu King to guard the imperial mausoleum.

Similar fools, there are more than one among the vassal kings.

Prince Fu has not yet reached the age of vassalage, and now he looks like he has the potential of a virtuous king. However, it is precisely because he may become a virtuous king that he cannot be approached.

Muddled vassal kings associate with court officials, the emperor can be indifferent, anyway, those guys are all insufficient to succeed and more than enough to fail.

The virtuous king who is highly praised is different. These people have normal brains and good reputations; if they don't make things happen, it's fine, but once they do, it's definitely a big deal.

"Marquis, Madam, Young Master Mu is asking to see you outside!"

The servant's voice sounded, and the two looked at each other, and the Marquis's wife said:

"Marquis, you talk to Mu'er. There are things in the back residence, so I'll leave first."

After slight contemplation, Li Yuan understood his wife's concerns.

Although the emperor only mentioned it, the obstacles to Li Mu's entry into office were cleared ahead of schedule.

The following conversation will definitely be related to government affairs.

Women are not allowed to interfere in government affairs; this is the rule passed down by the ancestors.

Noble families don't card this very strictly in this regard, and it's fine for husband and wife to chat a few words in private.

But in front of outsiders, it is a performance of lack of upbringing, even if it is a nephew from the main family.

"Madam, feel free.

Take Mu'er to the study, I'll be there later!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 9 =====