Fu Shanhe

Chapter 97 Reactions from all parties
The capital, Wenyuan Pavilion.

Prime Minister Dayu, who was almost killed in the explosion last night, appeared in everyone's sight with the support of his son.

However, his overall complexion is much worse than before.

“I know what you want to say, but at this time, what we need to do is stabilize the situation.

As for other matters, let’s talk about them after things have calmed down.

Especially Lord Lu, you must keep an eye on the Censorate during this period and don't let them cause trouble.

If someone causes trouble, don't be polite, just let the Jinyiwei arrest that person.

At times like this, we must be more cautious and focus on maintaining the stability of the court!"

Song Haidong said murderously.

To be able to become the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, he must have his own outstanding qualities.

He usually pretends to be a good guy because he is old and doesn't want to continue to make trouble.

Not wanting to do something and not having the ability to do it are two different concepts. When he makes up his mind to do something, he is still the decisive prime minister of the empire.

Repeatedly emphasizing the need to maintain stability is undoubtedly a demonstration of determination to all factions.

Even though he was very old and could die at any time, as long as he was alive, he was the most powerful old man in the Dayu Dynasty.

"Don't worry, Prime Minister. We will do our best to stabilize the government!

I think Lord Lu will not disappoint us."

As soon as Lu Shouyi opened his mouth, Lu Zhifan was stunned on the spot.

How could he have deserved to be named by two cabinet leaders in one day?

Anyone who dares to say no will probably have no chance of leaving here today.

"Rest assured, my two ministers, I will do my best!

Anyone who dares to stir up trouble at this time must be someone with evil intentions. I will never stop fighting with such disloyal and unfilial people."

The statement made by Zuodu Yushi Lu Zhifan silenced many officials with ideas.

Fighting for power and profit is important, but the prerequisite is to be able to survive.

The attitude of these big guys now is that whoever causes trouble will be killed first.

It is quite risky to put yourself in danger at this time.

Countless eyes were cast on the Second Assistant Pang Hengsheng. In the current situation, the ones most motivated to stir up trouble were the Qingliu Party.

As the losers in the last round of political struggle, a reshuffle of power is in the best interests of the Qingliu Party.

“Not only the Censorate, but also the Imperial College needs to pay attention.

There are also academies in various places that need to strengthen management.

With such a sudden change, those ambitious people will definitely not be able to hold back.

These young students are most easily misled, and we cannot watch them make mistakes.

I suggest that we issue an imperial decree in the name of the cabinet to all school principals, ordering them to strictly discipline the students in various places.

Anyone who dares to speak nonsense about government affairs will be stripped of his official title and will never be employed again!"

Pang Hengsheng's actions shocked countless people.

The scholars from all over the country are the power of the Qingliu camp. In the past when there were party struggles, these scholars were their important tools.

It was definitely the first time that a Qingliu leader took the initiative to ask for the restraint of scholars.

After a brief moment of surprise, everyone quickly reacted.

The overall situation is important!

No matter how good the current opportunity is, as the second-in-command of the cabinet, Pang Hengsheng must first consider the overall situation of the court.

If he fails to do this, not only will the emperor not tolerate him, but the knowledgeable people in the court will also kill him first.

The Dayu Dynasty has been nurturing scholars for so many years, and it is definitely not possible for an accidental explosion to change people's hearts.

……

The changes in the capital were transmitted to Yangzhou at the fastest speed.

Upon hearing the sad news, Li Mu was stunned.

What kind of explosion could have such tremendous power?

It is estimated that even if all the gunpowder of the Yu Dynasty was concentrated in the capital and sealed and detonated, it might not be able to cause such damage.

Basically, human factors can be ruled out. For anyone who has such ability, changing dynasties would be a piece of cake.

"My Lord, as long as His Majesty is alright, everything will be fine!"

Li Mu suppressed his shock and stepped forward to comfort her.

The losses caused by the explosion have not yet been calculated.

However, judging from the information collected so far, both the nobles group and the foreign relatives group suffered heavy losses this time.

The losses among the eunuchs and civil servants were also considerable, but their base was large enough and some of them had substitutes.

The same cannot be said for the nobles and relatives by marriage who rely on bloodline to continue their lineage. It is already difficult to cultivate talents, and another wave of deaths would be simply adding insult to injury.

It is a disaster for the group, but an opportunity for the individual.

In the officialdom, there is a position for every person, so naturally someone needs to fill the vacant position.

With more jobs, there is less competition.

As for the resulting imbalance of power, that is something the big shots need to consider, and it will not affect a small captain like him for the time being.

"Things are not that simple. Sudden natural disasters and anomalies will inevitably cause unrest in the world.

I originally thought that after reforming the Lianghuai salt administration and filling the financial deficit of the court, I would be able to usher in an era of prosperity.

Now it seems that it is difficult. The Tianyuan Dynasty was really plagued by disasters!"

Marquis Wuyang couldn't help but sigh.

When Emperor Tianyuan ascended the throne, he took over a mess.

It took a series of political means to pull Dayu out of the abyss and it was only one step away from the revival of Tianyuan.

Unfortunately, the weather was not good and a disaster suddenly struck.

In this era that worships the interaction between heaven and man, even droughts and floods can be attributed to the emperor's misconduct, let alone this explosion in the capital.

Compared with the impact on people's hearts, the direct losses caused by the explosion are secondary.

The court’s focus from now on will no longer be on reform, but on how to consolidate its rule.

“My Lord, we are temporarily powerless to do anything about the affairs of the capital.

We might as well concentrate our efforts on solving the problem of Lianghuai salt administration first.

I think at this time, both Eunuch Zuo of the Imperial Household Department and Lord Xu would like to return to the capital as soon as possible to take charge of the situation.

It would be easiest to reach an agreement in the short term by discussing the issue of salt administration reform with them at this time.

Only by completing the task as quickly as possible can we return home with honor!"

Li Mu advised.

These were all heartfelt words. As an official of the Dayu Dynasty, he sincerely hoped that the court could reverse its decadent trend.

The people don't have high demands on the court, as long as they don't mess around.

It would be even better if we could occasionally fire a few corrupt officials to give everyone some relief.

All the problems, big or small, that Dayu is facing now ultimately come down to one word: “money”.

It costs money to support the huge bureaucracy, and the Nine-Border Front is a gold-devouring behemoth.

Once the money problem is solved, most of the other problems will be solved.

The adverse effects caused can be completely diluted with time.

As long as the imperial court is strong enough, people's hearts will not change.

If it really doesn't work, the worst that can happen is that the eunuch party will take the blame.

Anyway, their reputation is the worst, so they don’t care if it gets even worse.

“You are right. I cannot continue to wait and see.

Xu Wenyue sent me a message a few days ago, but in consideration of epidemic prevention and control, he just issued a ban on banquets.

I wanted to set an example myself, so I did not accept his invitation.

Now that the situation has changed, I will send someone to reply to him, and you will go with me then."

After hearing what Marquis Wuyang said, Li Mu's head was buzzing.

After all this time, it turns out that these two open enemies have been in contact privately.

This whole thing about leading by example is pure bullshit.

It's just that the two of them failed to reach an agreement on interests, so it's not convenient for them to meet in person.

In the Great Yu Dynasty, the decision of big men to meet was a political statement in itself. Real negotiations of interests always took place in private, and most of the time it was the advisors of both sides who communicated and argued.

When big shots personally take part in negotiations, it is usually just an act, done deliberately for the people below to see.

"My Lord, is it inconvenient for me to go there?"

Li Mu asked nervously.

A small captain like him is not qualified to participate in such a high-end game.

Although he had come into contact with many important figures with his uncle when he was in Beijing, they were all family friends.

In addition to him, there were also descendants of other noble families present.

The people he makes friends with are also young people of similar age, just to make himself familiar to those big shots.

As a subordinate, being taken to participate in such a high-end game represents a lot of significance.

"What nonsense! If I tell you to go, just follow me obediently.

This time, you are representing the Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion.

Remember to write to your uncle later and tell him that I have repaid the favor I owed him!"

Marquis Wuyang cursed impatiently.

After the incident in the capital, his mind was no longer on Yangzhou City.

For foreign relatives like Marquis Wuyang, the emperor and the empress dowager in the palace are the top priority.

Even if their own home was hit by the explosion and suffered considerable losses, it would not be even one percent of what happened to the two above.

Only when he has a backer can he be the honorable uncle of the king.

The reason he chose to bring Li Mu along was to repay a favor, but mainly because he needed someone to give him advice.

When it comes to political skills, Marquis Wuyang does not think he is a match for a cabinet minister.

There are indeed some talented people around him, but these people are usually very cautious when they see him, for fear of saying the wrong thing.

Bring him to see Lord Xu, and I guess he will be suppressed by the other party's aura as soon as they meet.

……

In the government office.

"impossible!"

"This is impossible!"

Throwing the letter heavily on the ground, Xu Wenyue still found it hard to believe this was true.

A huge explosion almost took away the Great Yu Dynasty. It sounds like a fairy tale.

"Lord, no one dares to talk about this kind of thing."

Hou Huaichang reminded gently.

The pain of losing a son coupled with the political changes in the government is a double blow that no one can accept.

However, people have to face reality eventually.

Especially when there is a major power reshuffle, the sooner you react, the greater the advantage you will have.

Compared to the unlucky people who died in the explosion, those who left Beijing early are all lucky ones.

"God doesn't bless me, Dayu!"

Xu Wenyue's sigh scared Hou Huaichang half to death.

Such outrageous words cannot be spoken casually.

Although deep down in his heart, he also thought so, but there are some things that can only be thought about and not said.

"Lord, be careful with your words!"

Hou Huaichang hurriedly persuaded.

He was frightened, fearing that Xu Wenyue would say something shocking in his grief.

"Don't worry, I'm not crazy yet.

Write back to the capital and ask them to announce my son's funeral. There's no need to wait for me!

Let me take my time to discuss matters at court, and we will discuss them tomorrow."

Xu Wenyue said with a sad face.

He had more than one son, but the one who died was the one with the most outstanding abilities.

He obtained the title of Juren at a young age, and it was natural for him to obtain the title of Jinshi a few years later.

For a family like his, fame alone is not enough; the key lies in how one conducts oneself in society.

In this regard, the eldest son happened to inherit his mantle.

It may not be realistic to lead the Xu family to a higher level, but it is enough to protect the family business and continue the wealth.

After twenty years of painstakingly training an heir, now everything is gone.

For a moment he felt discouraged, but he soon came out of it.

Being able to climb to the top of officialdom, Xu Wenyue is a man of strong determination and will not be defeated so easily.

The dead are gone, but the living must continue.

……

Huai'an Prefecture.

"Pack your things, I want to go back to Beijing!"

Zuo Guangen said with a serious look.

The emperor was seriously injured, and for him it was like the sky falling.

In his opinion, no matter how important the Lianghuai salt administration reform was, it was not even one-tenth as important as Emperor Tianyuan's health.

For civil and military officials, even if the emperor changes, they still have to do the same job.

But eunuchs are different. They are truly ministers of different dynasties.

Among the officials, there are quite a few who have served in two or three dynasties. Some of them can live to become the veterans of four or five dynasties.

The only thing I have never heard of is eunuchs being able to rule over several dynasties.

If you are lucky enough to meet a kind-hearted emperor, you can get a leisurely place to retire.

If they encounter a ruthless character, these eunuchs will be the first to be purged.

"Father, we can't leave now!

You are an imperial envoy. According to the rules, you are not allowed to return to the capital without an imperial decree before completing your mission."

The young eunuch who was nearby hurriedly persuaded him.

He was also extremely worried when the emperor had an accident.

But the more times like this happen, the more you cannot make mistakes.

I have finally managed to hold on to this powerful figure, I can't let him fall like this.

"If I don't go back to take charge of the situation after this incident, I don't know what those bastards will do.

If I had known that the Lianghuai Salt Industry was so troublesome, I would not have come to join in the fun!"

Zuo Guangen couldn't help but complain.

He went south to achieve a great political achievement. Now that the achievement was about to be achieved, an accident happened in Beijing.

Fortunately, Emperor Tianyuan was only injured and did not die, otherwise the consequences would be even more serious.

"Godfather, this is a serious matter. Why don't you gather everyone together to discuss countermeasures?"

The young eunuch suggested.

This matter is too complicated and far beyond his understanding.

I want to come up with some advice, but I don't know where to start, so I can only place my hopes on the eunuch party leaders.

“Yes, this kind of thing does need to be carefully considered.

If nothing goes wrong, His Majesty's imperial edict is on the way.

Based on my understanding of His Majesty, what he hates most is giving up halfway through a task.

He has spent several years planning to reform the salt administration and will never give up easily."

Zuo Guangen nodded and said.

Although I want to return to Beijing immediately, there is still work to be done.

For the emperor, the more panicked people are, the more he must remain strong.

If the salt administration reform is successful, it will be of great strategic significance to the stability of the situation in the imperial court.

As long as we have money, soldiers and justice, this world will never be in chaos!
……

(End of this chapter)