Chapter 274: Abandoning the Chariot to Save the Pawn

Qingyang Shuo smiled bitterly and shook his head.

The group of people all grew anxious.

"Sir, just say what you have to say."

"Sir, please don't keep us in suspense!"

Liu Zheng also looked at Qingyang Shuo with anticipation.

Qingyang Shuo slowly looked toward Liu Dahao and smiled bitterly: "This depends on the intention of the Prefectural Governor..."

Liu Dahao wore a look of confusion.

Liu Zheng, however, was shaken to his core, laughing bitterly: "Sir, do you mean to let Father give up the title of King?"

The crowd was shocked, their expressions changing slightly.

Several people almost blurted out curses. Give up the title of King? Do they know how difficult it is to obtain the position of a King of a Different Surname in this Longyan Dynasty? During the Pingyu era of Xie Tianyao, there was only one King of a Different Surname in the entire Longyan Dynasty, and that was the King of Wei!

There is no need to elaborate on how powerful the King of Wei is.

People have been talking with relish these days about how the Longyan Dynasty is about to have its second King of a Different Surname, and what kind of earth-shattering changes this will bring to the situation in Longyan.

Some people who specialize in studying political affairs have even been debating it fiercely for many days. Could this King of a Different Surname in Yinzhou be used by the Emperor to counter the King of Wei?

Or does it have some other intention?

And so on and so forth.

The people of Yinzhou, those who follow Liu Dahao and Liu Zheng, were actually all very happy. Who doesn't hope for promotion and wealth? You must know that a Feudatory King can establish a small country of his own, have his own imperial court, his own civil and military officials, and his own system. The Feudal System is just like that; once Liu Dahao is enfeoffed as a King, everyone will rise to the top.

Liu Dahao's rule over the entire Liangzhou would then also have a legitimate basis.

But now you, Qingyang Shuo, are saying to give up the title of King?

Who would be willing to do that?

The group of people all grew anxious: "Sir, this is the Emperor's will; if we refuse, I fear it would be inappropriate!"

"That's right, Sir. A King of a Different Surname, to give it up just because of a condemned woman? This..."

"How will the people of the world view us?"

Liu Zheng had been observing Liu Dahao's expression; in fact, when he heard about giving up the title of King, there was no change on Liu Dahao's face, which is to say, he did not care about these things at all.

As expected.

He laughed heartily: "What is difficult about this? I never cared for that King of a Different Surname title anyway; how uncomfortable it is!"

Qingyang Shuo smiled and said: "Prefectural Governor, that is a profound statement! That's right, uncomfortable! This is the very problem that Shuo has been pondering. Should this King of a Different Surname title be accepted at all?"

"This is the Emperor's decree, that is correct."

"But before the Emperor said these words, he certainly did not expect that the one who could manage the plague would be Prefectural Governor Liu."

"Otherwise..."

Qingyang Shuo laughed heartily: "I fear the Emperor would have had to reconsider."

The crowd burst into laughter.

Prefectural Governor Liu is too famous now; his fame even exceeds that of the Crown Prince and the Third Prince. This in itself is a rather taboo matter. If at this time, Liu Dahao were to truly be enfeoffed as a King...

This actually carries the suspicion of "killing with kindness"!

The tree that stands above the forest will be destroyed by the wind!

Qingyang Shuo smiled: "If the Prefectural Governor truly accepts this title, it would be the King of Wei who is truly overjoyed! Everyone, the Qingzhou Army is already powerful; if the pressure on the King of Wei is suddenly reduced, is that an outcome the Emperor wants to see?"

In the whole world, with only the King of Wei as the sole King of a Different Surname, he would certainly be on pins and needles.

But if there were this one, Liu Dahao, his pressure would certainly be greatly reduced. If the Qingzhou Army continued to develop at that point, would that not be disastrous? It would be extremely disadvantageous to both the Longyan Dynasty and Yinzhou!

Therefore, after Qingyang Shuo said this, the crowd fell silent.

Qingyang Shuo continued to persuade: "Therefore, Shuo has been thinking that rather than having this title, it is better not to have it! It gives the Emperor a way out and gives Yinzhou some room for maneuver."

"Everyone, the sharpness of Yinzhou is already too great! Shuo requests that everyone temporarily avoid the limelight, settle down a bit, trade the title of King for ease, and trade time for space."

He cupped his hands with a serious face: "In this way, the Emperor will have no reason not to support the Imperial Examination and the Grand Canal!"

Seeing Qingyang Shuo in his wheelchair making such a grand gesture, the crowd was startled.

Qingyang Shuo has always been incomparably aloof; such earnest words today are already very rare.

"Sir, you must not..."

"What Sir says is absolutely correct!"

"We will strictly follow Sir's teachings!"

Seeing that this group of people finally had no objections, Liu Zheng also felt relieved in his heart.

Qingyang Shuo is, after all, still Qingyang Shuo.

His vision is quite sharp and unique! In this enfeoffment incident, the emotional fluctuations within the Yinzhou Army were actually quite large, and Liu Zheng believes this is not a good thing.

Yinzhou needs to cool down now.

After the battle of Hanzhong, following the expedition to the Western Regions, and returning to take the entire Liangzhou, the people of the Yinzhou Army have actually become a bit arrogant. There is a feeling of being invincible in the world...

In fact, that is not the case.

Liu Zheng knows that the old Emperor, Xie Tianyao, has ten thousand ways to deal with the Yinzhou Army; he just hasn't used them yet.

Because he needs to manage his own way of checks and balances.

Therefore.

He wants you to be arrogant, so you can be arrogant; if he doesn't want you to be arrogant, you stay obediently... As long as Xie Tianyao does not die, the world will not be in chaos.

Only when the Grand Canal truly connects the north and south will it be the time for Yinzhou to truly set sail. You must know that back then, Sui Yangdi spent a total of six years excavating the Grand Canal.

In Liu Zheng's estimation, if his own Grand Canal goes smoothly, with the whole project excavated together, it could connect the north and south of the country in about three or four years!

Now?

Just lay low for now and develop with peace of mind!

It is settled then.

Chen Ruoshi was considered to have stayed behind.

Considering the sentiments of the local people in Dunhuang, as well as the fact that Xie Tianyao was already on his way to Liangzhou, Liu Zheng decided to leave behind a garrison of fifty thousand, and for everyone else, to head back to Liangzhou.

……

The imperial procession of the Son of Heaven is the largest in scale and the most magnificent in formation of any feudal dynasty.

The imperial procession continued by the Longyan Dynasty is still the one from the Han Dynasty era. It is divided into three types: the Great Carriage, the Dharma Carriage, and the Small Carriage. The Great Carriage is the largest in scale and the most solemn.

Since his defeat in the Western Regions, Xie Tianyao had not left the Imperial Palace for over a decade.

The last time was also to go hunting.

Therefore, for this trip to Liangzhou, he naturally had to use the Great Carriage.

The so-called Great Carriage is led by dukes and ministers, with the Great General riding alongside, the Grand Coachman driving, and eighty-one auxiliary carriages, accompanied by a thousand chariots and ten thousand cavalry. Because Liangzhou is the hometown of Empress Zheng Fu, the Empress also accompanied the Emperor on this Great Carriage trip.

Along the way, the Emperor's Horse Carriage did not seem to jolt at all; Xie Tianyao sat with his eyes closed to rest his mind, lost in deep thought the entire time.

The Empress was not in the Horse Carriage accompanying the Emperor; the one accompanying him was naturally still Grand Eunuch Lao Zhou.

"The Crown Prince has made quite some progress in this play in Liangzhou."

Xie Tianyao suddenly chuckled.

Grand Eunuch Lao Zhou accompanied him with a smile: "The Crown Prince has indeed become much more steady. There is hope for Longyan!"

Xie Tianyao laughed heartily: "Lao Zhou, oh Lao Zhou, who cannot see that this is the strategy of Prefect Liu? Hahahaha! But the Crown Prince has made a correct choice for the first time in a long while, and my heart is greatly comforted."

Grand Eunuch Lao Zhou continued to smile: "Emperor, since ancient times, how could an emperor do everything personally? This Longyan is a great ship, and the Emperor should be the helmsman; as for the other miscellaneous matters, there are naturally people to handle them. This Prefect Liu is, after all, a man destined for toil, left to be dispatched by the Crown Prince!"

Xie Tianyao felt much happier upon hearing this, but he hummed indifferently: "I did not expect that this Prefect Liu could even cure the plague; he is truly a man of talent."

"I only fear that the Crown Prince will not be able to control him..."

Xie Tianyao said indifferently.

Grand Eunuch Lao Zhou trembled all over, lowered his head, and said nothing.

In reality, he knew the intention behind Xie Tianyao's personal visit to Liangzhou this time. He was actually uneasy about this Liangzhou; while it was said he came to behead Chen Ping, what he wanted more was to come and see what this Liangzhou looked like now!

What it had been governed into by Prefect Liu!

This meant that Xie Tianyao had taken an interest in Liangzhou!

He had begun to pay attention to this place!

He had to come in person to be at ease and to decide on the next steps of deployment.

Which is to say...

This time...

These father and son of the Liu family were about to face a face-to-face test from the Emperor.

Would they be able to handle this examination question?