Chapter 455: Human Affairs

This time, Wei Yuan left two generals from noble families to guard the military camp. These generals from noble families at least had their family background as a foundation and would not have unnecessary caution; they would fight if they had to. If Wei Yuan had left Cui Yu to guard the camp at that time, he would have knocked down all the Anbei people in the first place, and Wei Yuan wouldn't have needed to rush over. Just in terms of status, Cui Yu wouldn't be afraid of Xu Tongshou either.

Afterward, Wei Yuan returned to the post house, changed into casual clothes, called Cui Yu, and said: "Let's go, let's go around the city."

The two didn't bring any attendants and disappeared into the streets in the light snow.

A moment later, Wei Yuan and Cui Yu appeared at the junction of the northwest city. This area was the poorest area in the Royal Capital, dirty and messy everywhere.

Cui Yu thought he had deliberately changed into tattered clothes, but walking on the small path between the shanties with Wei Yuan, the two were still extremely conspicuous, and there were countless eyes watching them in the dark.

At this time, there was still some time before dusk, but the sky was gloomy, with fine light snow falling, and a layer of white quickly appeared on the ground. Cui Yu looked at both sides of the street, and the more he looked, the heavier his mood became.

The shanties on the side of the road were visibly leaking wind everywhere; the better ones were stuffed with hay and rags, but some people didn't even have this, and several people huddled together in the corner of the room to keep warm. Some shanties had a little charcoal fire burning, but some people in the houses could only endure it.

Cui Yu was lost in thought, when suddenly he tripped and kicked something hard. He looked down and saw that it was a child's corpse, looking only four or five years old, who didn't know when he had died on the side of the road and was already frozen stiff.

Cui Yu was stunned, then stepped over it. Then he looked forward, and only then did he see that there was more than one corpse under the white snow.

The two continued to walk forward, and Cui Yu suddenly said: "If it were three years ago, I would definitely take the corpse away and bury it properly. But now, I finally understand a sentence my grandfather told me back then: You can't finish burying them."

Wei Yuan's expression was calm, he pointed forward and said: "There is a charcoal seller over there, let's go over and see."

At the street corner, there was a shop with two courtyards, piled with firewood and charcoal. Several ragged people were buying charcoal there. Some took out some scattered silver, some took out some copper coins, most bought firewood, and only two bought a small basket of charcoal.

Wei Yuan leaned over and asked: "How do these sell?"

"Coarse firewood is fifteen wen a jin, fine firewood is fifty wen. Charcoal is one hundred wen a jin." The boss was a dark, honest man. He looked at Wei Yuan and Cui Yu's clothes, and his attitude became much more respectful.

Wei Yuan asked again: "I see that there are still many families who haven't started a fire. Can they survive such a night?"

The boss sighed and said: "Those you mentioned are all black households. The court will subsidize some firewood and charcoal for the registered good households. Although it is not much, at least it can start a fire and won't freeze people to death. But it's hard to say for black households. As long as they can't find work for a few days and encounter another snowstorm, people will die."

"Are the corpses on the road just left like that?"

"It won't rot on a snowy day, so let's put it there first. The court will come to collect the corpses every three to five days. Those who die in the households will also be carried out when the time comes."

Hearing the boss talk about these things in a tone like talking about daily life, Cui Yu could hardly believe his ears. He could hear that this kind of thing had become commonplace and happened every year. But this was the Royal Capital of West Jin!

Cui Yu pretended to ask casually: "These people know that they might freeze to death, why do they still come to be black households?"

The boss sighed and said: "There are walls in the city to block the wind, and there are large arrays to protect against snowstorms. How can it compare outside the city? They can still survive if they enter the city, and it is a dead end if they leave the Royal Capital."

Wei Yuan took a small piece of broken silver and put it in the boss's hand, saying: "Thank you, take this silver to drink."

Amidst the boss's thousand thanks, Wei Yuan and Cui Yu left this neighborhood.

For the next hour, the two talked with the soldiers guarding the city gate, the government office runners patrolling the street, the boss of the small snack shop, etc., and also chatted with several homeless people hiding from the wind and snow in a sheltered place. As long as they were given a few hot cakes, they would open their chatterboxes and pour out all their experiences.

Finally, the two called a few simple dishes in a small restaurant and chatted with the merchants sharing the table.

Seeing that Wei Yuan and Cui Yu had extraordinary bearing and conversation, and drank the other party's wine, the merchant naturally knew everything and said everything, and even said all the secrets he knew:

"Two masters, you don't know, there are black households and refugees in the Wang Cheng every year, and other cities also have them. Every year, people who can't survive will take advantage of the winter to run to the city. If they can be taken in by kind families, or are lucky enough to find a casual job, they can survive this winter. Those who are unlucky can't survive."

The Royal Capital is, after all, different from other cities. By imperial grace, the court provides subsidies for firewood to law-abiding households in winter. Those who cannot afford charcoal will go to the homes of those who have it to borrow some heat, paying much less than if they were to burn a stove on their own. This can also be considered a unique business for the law-abiding households of the Royal Capital..."

After dinner, the two returned to the post house. Cui Yu didn't quite understand what Wei Yuan had been looking at all afternoon. Hearing Cui Yu's question, Wei Yuan said: "I just want to know where these black households and refugees come from, and what are the reasons for them becoming refugees. There are so many people frozen to death, you can't finish burying them. Similarly, there are so many refugees, I can't buy a cake for everyone. Moreover, helping today doesn't help tomorrow, we always have a time to leave."

"So only by knowing the reasons for the refugees can I know what I can do. Now I roughly know a little bit, and after the New Year's State Banquet is over, we will take a look when we return, and it will be about the same."

Cui Yu naturally knew Wei Yuan's idea of wanting to take in refugees, so he smiled and said: "Perhaps we can find people to compose ballads and sing them in the streets and alleys, just say: Qingming has no winter..."

Wei Yuan laughed and shook his head. If this ballad spread widely, he would have to rebel even if he didn't want to.

Night fell, Cui Yu returned to his residence to practice, while Wei Yuan flipped through the invitations and visiting cards piled up like a small mountain. Among them, two invitations were taken out separately by Wei Yuan, ready to keep the appointment. One invitation came from the Crown Prince, and the other was from Li Weisheng.

In a few days, it would be the New Year. The Jin Prince would hold a grand banquet for all officials on the first day of the New Year, and Wei Yuan was naturally on the list. After the New Year's banquet, Wei Yuan could return to Qingming.

Receiving the Crown Prince's invitation, Wei Yuan was still a bit surprised. As far as Wei Yuan knew, the Crown Prince's faction was strong and had many talents. When Wei Yuan first became a Military Governor, there was no place for him in the Crown Prince's faction at all. Until now, Wei Yuan had received the invitation, indicating that he had entered the Crown Prince's field of vision.

However, Wei Yuan felt that even with his current self, his role for the Crown Prince was very limited, or even useless at all.

To put it bluntly, as long as Wei Yuan was not rebelling, the Crown Prince could completely ignore him. When the Jin Prince drives the crane to the west, the Crown Prince will naturally ascend to the throne. The Wei Prince wants to fight with the Crown Prince, at least for now, he is far from qualified. The Fu Prince is just a child, and it is said that he is very naughty and not successful.

It's just that Wei Yuan suddenly thought of the titles of several princes, and frowned slightly. The Crown Prince is the Liang Prince, the Fifth Prince is the Wei Prince, Liang and Wei are both country names that appeared in the previous dynasty, which is standard. But the child just born by Imperial Consort Yuan is the Chu Prince!

Chu not only had many large vassal states in history, but also once unified the world. If used as a prince's title, it is listed with Han, Shang, Li, and Tang, second only to Qin. Generally, obtaining the title of Chu Prince is very likely to be the future heir.

Although the Chu Prince was just born, judging from the title, the strange phenomena at birth, the mother consort being the only one in the palace, and Wei Yuan holding heavy troops outside, this constitutes a substantial threat to the Crown Prince, and the threat can even be said to be greater than the Wei Prince.

!.

As for age, it was not a big problem originally. As long as the Jin Prince could live for another twenty years, the Chu Prince would naturally grow up. It's just that all signs indicate that the Jin Prince's lifespan is coming to an end, and he will likely not live until the Chu Prince is an adult.

The Crown Prince's banquet was the next day. When night fell, Wei Yuan went to the Crown Prince's mansion next to the palace. After reporting, he was taken to a warm pavilion in the west courtyard.

The warm pavilion was protected by an array. Although the windows were open to enjoy the snow and plum blossoms, the pavilion was as warm as spring, and not a trace of cold wind could blow in.

In the warm pavilion, the Crown Prince was in the first seat, and there were four civil officials. It seemed to be a small private banquet.

At this time, the Crown Prince was still in his early thirties, with a short beard, a majestic face, and an extraordinary bearing. Seeing Wei Yuan arrive, he got up to welcome him out of the pavilion, and then the host and guest took their seats. After three rounds of wine, the Crown Prince asked about the border wars, and then entered the main topic.

He held a wine glass, looked at Wei Yuan, and said: "I don't know what Lord Wei thinks of the current situation in Great Jin?"

Wei Yuan's heart moved, knowing that the main event was coming. However, this question seemed quite easy to him, so he said: "I don't know much about government affairs, so I can't comment. But in my opinion, Great Jin currently has more external troubles than internal worries. The first priority is to resist the aliens. Only by blocking the aliens can we talk about other things. But sharpening troops and feeding horses is the most expensive, and now the national treasury seems to be a bit empty."

The Crown Prince was calm and nodded: "Lord Wei's eyes are like torches, the national treasury is indeed empty. I don't know what advice you have for me?"

Wei Yuan said: "When I came to the capital, I observed along the way and found that many places in Great Jin are actually quite wealthy. Logically speaking, the national treasury should be full. But the reality is that the national treasury is empty, which means one thing: Great Jin is not without silver, it's just that this silver has not entered the national treasury."

An elderly civil official at the table suddenly snorted heavily, and the other two also looked displeased. Wei Yuan recognized that the elderly official was the Minister of Works, who was qualified to discuss affairs in the political hall, and should be a core figure of the Crown Prince's faction.

He stroked his beard and said sternly: "Lord Wei, these words are wrong! Hiding wealth among the people is the foundation of a strong country. The large clans in the local area are wealthy and will naturally recruit local braves and train them during the slack season. This is also a major source of soldiers for our Great Jin. The noble clans are the foundation of Great Jin. Lord Wei is young and talks about the system passed down by the ancestors, I'm afraid it's inappropriate!"

Wei Yuan was also annoyed and said: "It's okay not to pay silver, donating people is also a way."

The Minister of Works' face was even uglier, wanting to say something, but looking at the Crown Prince's face, he didn't say more.

And Wei Yuan observed his words and expressions, and roughly knew the relationship between the noble clans and the Jin country. These things were actually recorded in history books long ago, but today Wei Yuan intuitively understood how fiercely the noble clans reacted to any idea of taxing them.

The Crown Prince held a wine glass and asked meaningfully: "Then what does Lord Wei think of the future of Great Jin?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 456 =====