Chinese New Year

Chapter 1370 The Hardworking Crown Prince

Wild geese fly south, and the autumn wind is bleak.

Yu Wenjun, dressed in plain white, walked in the imperial garden behind the Ganlu Hall.

Many precious flowers and plants were transplanted into the garden, but she showed little interest in them. She seemed as wilted as the flowers and plants in autumn.

Her father and mother were gone. For her, the closest person was not her brothers and sisters, nor her sons and daughters, but her husband.

She misses her husband. Although he always makes her angry when they're together, she just misses him. She's been missing him since she was a girl, almost thirty years now.

He's been gone for half a year, and he's still in Hebei. I don't know what he's doing there.

She read the letters he wrote back over and over again for a long time, until she was almost dizzy from reading them.

The letter could not ultimately reach the level of the person, and who knows how long he will continue to wander before returning home.

The Crown Prince and his wife stayed by her side, exchanging casual conversation.

"Mother, Father should be in Zhangwu by now." Crown Prince Shao Jin's face was full of smiles, and it was clear that he had been in a very good mood for the past six months.

During court assemblies, while he may not handle all matters large and small, he is at least informed of everything and his opinions are heard.

Even the tutors and servants of the Crown Prince no longer handle everything behind his back; they now ask for his opinion.

Once some things have begun, even if the father returns, things will never completely return to the way they were in the past.

Yu Wenjun hummed in agreement and casually asked, "Are there any difficulties in political affairs?"

The Crown Prince pondered for a moment and said, "The Council of State Affairs is full of capable officials, and they manage everything in an orderly manner."

Yu Wenjun responded with an "oh," seemingly not particularly concerned, only instructing, "You should also offer your own opinions and not always back down."

The prince nodded.

Crown Princess Lu held the Crown Prince's hand and said softly, "Auntie, you may not know this, but my husband previously proposed to exempt the people of the seven prefectures of Xihe, Taiyuan, Kelan, Mayi, Diaoyin, Xinqin, and Shang from the arrears of previous years in order to make up for their losses in horse racing. The Emperor approved it and rewarded my husband."

There's an efficiency problem with the imperial court's tax collection; it's impossible to collect 100% of the taxes, and there will always be arrears, especially in poorer areas. During this campaign against Liaodong, the court again levied large-scale horse requisitions in these seven prefectures, confiscating horses from tribes, to be returned after the war.

Even if it's called returning them, it will definitely be a loss for the tribe. Even if every single horse is returned, they've been used so much by the army for so long that their lifespans will be shortened, so compensation is necessary.

The crown prince suggested exempting the accumulated taxes from previous years, and the emperor agreed and praised the crown prince.

It wasn't a big deal, but it enhanced the Crown Prince's prestige and gave him a good reputation in those seven prefectures.

After hearing this, Yu Wenjun felt much better and said, "Liang Nu, you've put your heart into it."

After saying that, he looked at Madam Lu and said, "Now that you are pregnant, you don't need to come to see me every day. The weather is getting colder, which is very harmful to people. Please be careful."

Lady Lu responded.

Yu Wenjun withdrew her gaze. She hadn't been particularly satisfied with this daughter-in-law before, but now she was much more pleasing to the eye. Although her appearance wasn't as good as Yaoyao, whom she knew well, her demeanor was superb. When she stood there, her posture was upright, her shoulders and back were relaxed, and her neck had a beautiful line.

He speaks and acts with composure and unhurriedness, his every move within the bounds of propriety yet seemingly transcending the rules.

To be honest, she's better than her. No wonder her husband said she was a good wife the moment he saw her—his judgment of women was indeed correct.

Thinking of this, Yu Wenjun sighed inwardly and thought of her husband again.

******
After returning to the Eastern Palace, Crown Prince Shao Jin dismissed everyone and spent some time alone reviewing official documents.

Fourth brother has done a great job this time.

He recalled the time they parted ways before, and felt a slight pang of sadness. He was truly heartbroken then. If he could do it all over again, he would even persuade his father to let his fourth brother stay. He swore before the ancestral temple that he would be friendly with his fourth brother.

But seeing him shine so brightly now makes me feel a little complicated.

Not only did the fourth brother make a contribution, but the third and eighth brothers also showed their talents and abilities.

Shao Jin sighed softly.

"Are you feeling unwell?" Crown Princess Lu appeared behind Shao Jin and gently massaged his shoulders.

"No," Shao Jin shook her head.

“You are the crown prince, and your position is of great importance, so naturally you must stay in the capital,” said Lady Lu. “You don’t need to achieve much now. As long as you remain stable and make no mistakes, you can smoothly succeed to the throne. In the future, they will all have to kneel before you.”

Shao Jin chuckled softly.

Lady Lu moved to stand in front of him, cupped his face in her hands, and smiled, "Your Majesty is such a shrewd person, how could you not know these things?"

"Does Father really know how hard I've worked?" Shao Jin asked.

"Of course he knows," Madam Lu said, pulling her hand back and covering her mouth with a smile. "Just like the matter of the canal transport in Jiangnan that you just signed, if the Emperor knew about it, he would surely praise you."

Shao Jin nodded slightly.

This year, Jiangnan is to transport taxes to Guangling and Hefei, but many ships under the command of the various tax commissioners have been diverted to Hebei to transport military supplies. General Cheng Xia requested the construction of new ships, which the Council of State Affairs approved, designating Badong, Wuchang, and Poyang as the three main shipbuilding locations. Shao Jin, however, felt this was inappropriate, as the craftsmen at these shipbuilding sites were conscripted from other prefectures, some living hundreds of miles away, making their work extremely arduous. Therefore, he suggested establishing more workshops for shipbuilding, rationally allocating the craftsmen for duty, and minimizing public unrest.

He hadn't thought much of it at first, but his wife's praise made him feel much better.

He couldn't help but hug Madam Lu tightly, and said sincerely, "How fortunate I am to have such a wife."

At this moment, he completely forgot about all his other concubines.

Mrs. Lu buried her face in his chest, her cheeks flushed.

Men also need to be coaxed, even in front of their closest loved ones.

"I wonder if Father will return to the capital before the New Year," Shao Jin said, carefully releasing his pregnant wife.

“We should inspect Qingzhou when we arrive in October,” said Madam Lu. “After that, we will go to the East Sea and return before the New Year, which will be very rushed. This year, the New Year’s Day court assembly will most likely be presided over by my husband, and the southern suburban sacrifice to Heaven in February is also possible. This is not a bad thing.”

"Hmm." Shao Jin tapped the table lightly with her index finger and said, "Let's wait patiently."

He didn't know that his action was very similar to his father's, perhaps because he often saw it when he was a boy following his father around, and unconsciously began to imitate it.

Shao's children, consciously or unconsciously, all imitated him.

“Pingzhou has been captured, but how to manage it in the future is a problem.” Shao Jin suddenly sighed again: “Of the more than twenty prefectures in the country, not many can help the court financially. Some places not only do not provide much tax revenue, but also require the court to subsidize a lot of it. However, it has always been like this since ancient times, hasn’t it? More than twenty prefectures and hundreds of counties have always lived together like this.”

Just as Lady Lu was about to say something, a clerk came from outside the door and announced: "Lord Liu, the Minister of the Imperial Clan Court, has passed away."

Shao Jin stood up abruptly and said, "Prepare the carriage; I am going to the Liu residence."

******
When the news reached Shao Xun, it was already early October. At that time, he was staying at the Shi family's manor in Leling.

Shao Xun sighed, "My uncle is gone too."

To be fair, my uncle's abilities were quite average. Back in Jin, he was just a squad leader; he might have been capable of commanding a few hundred men, but no more.

During the war years, I had the opportunity to hone my skills and improve them, but I could only command about 10,000 people at most; I wasn't as efficient with any more.

But he was a true and close relative, someone you could entrust with your future in a critical moment, and he certainly lived up to that role.

After issuing an imperial edict ordering Cui Yu, the Minister of Ceremonies, to return to Bianliang to oversee his uncle's funeral, Shao Xun decided to stay in Leling for a few more days to handle various matters.

The rebellion in Puyangshan Town has been quelled.

When the army reached the outskirts of the town, they only had to shout once before someone threw out the heads of more than ten people who had instigated the riot and begged for their pardon.

King Shao Xu of Zhao was in charge of handling the matter. He agreed to the request of the garrison soldiers, ordering them to lay down their weapons, line up outside the city, and then carefully screen and interrogate them. He dealt with dozens of people, but did not kill them; he only sentenced them to exile with their families.

Several hundred other families were advised to "stop minor evils" and relocate to Huainan to serve as the government's military retinue.

Jiang Ke provided only military assistance from beginning to end, leaving the handling of the situation to the King of Zhao.

Shao Xun agreed with the three sons' proposed solution and exiled these dozens of families to Guangzhou.

Saburo has also grown up. This handling is generally fine and reflects his own style. Even if there are flaws, they are minor issues.

If he were to be granted fiefdoms in the future, he probably wouldn't be at a loss.

The more than two thousand soldiers of Puyangshan Town also caused some unrest on the way, but fortunately, the town general Xu Puyi beat and scolded them, and used his prestige to quell the unrest.

After returning to the town, it caused no disturbance. The town's more than 16,000 soldiers and civilians began to be registered as ordinary citizens, and the turmoil disappeared without a trace.

Shangbai Town is the most complicated.

This town has a large population, with more than 50,000 people in all the garrisons and towns combined. Although no one was killed and the envoy was initially welcomed in, the envoy later changed his mind, plundered the envoy's horses, money, and official documents, and drove him out of Shangbai Town.

When General Bo Guanzhi heard this, he was utterly thunderstruck.

He had accepted his fate and was ready to exchange it for wealth and status, but the lower-ranking officers were not satisfied, which eventually caused chaos. Some were loyal to the court, some made a fuss, and some watched coldly.

Just yesterday, he heard that his house had been robbed. Although no one was hurt, the doors and windows were smeared with filth...

This is simply unreasonable!
However, Shao Xun did not blame him. After his uncle passed away and Liu Bin, the Left General of the Divine Guard, returned home for the funeral, he granted him this position.

Of course, this was conditional, namely, that Bo Guanzhi personally led his troops back to the town to quell the rebellion.

The Left and Right Flying Dragon Guards and the Left Feather Forest Guard, who were on their way back, immediately turned around and surrounded Shangbai Town, waiting for the rebellion to be quelled before returning home.

The population of Shangbai Town is too dense. A large number of soldiers will definitely be relocated to several sparsely populated counties south of Xuzhou, such as Xiapi, Linhuai, and Guangling, to be registered as commoners.

Everything proceeded smoothly and without incident; there were even fewer troublemakers than Shao Xun had imagined.

As things stand today, the tide is surging, and this is to be expected.

(End of this chapter)