I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 192 He Loves This Son Too Much
After Yuan Shu said this, Yuan Feng was suddenly speechless.

He knew that what Yuan Shu said was right. No one knows when they will die or when their ambitions will be unfulfilled.

In recent years, he kept hearing about epidemics breaking out in some places, and in many counties and counties, entire villages of farmers had died en masse. The government was helpless and could only leave it to fate.

From this perspective, the disease is like a steel knife, both of which kill people without blinking an eye.

It is not necessarily safer for them to stay in Luoyang than for Yuan Shu to go to Bingzhou.

Human beings are mortals. Who dares to say that he or she will definitely live to be seventy or eighty years old and die of old age?
So it is the right thing to do to seize every opportunity and run forward.

In this respect, Yuan Wei and Yuan Shu are very similar.

Yuan Feng thought of his elder brother Yuan Cheng who died young, and couldn't help but sigh.

His son has military talent, which can be seen from the team he has assembled and the plan he has made. In addition, he is surrounded by a group of loyal and capable subordinates who protect him.

Yuan Feng had reason to believe that his son could make a name for himself on the border, carve out a niche for himself, and even make greater contributions and achieve greater achievements.

He was quite willing to believe that his son could do this.

But the problem is that he will feel sad.

He will feel sorry for this son, he will be concerned about this son, he will be obsessed with this son.

He loves this son so much.

But he couldn't say these words. As a dignified father, he really couldn't say them and had no way of telling his son how much he loved him.

Yuan Feng pursed his lips, was silent for a while, and then slowly spoke.

"Shu, the Xianbei are not eunuchs, and the Xianbei cavalry are not palace guards. They come and go like the wind, are fierce and bloodthirsty, have strong combat power, and are very cunning. If you are in Luoyang, your father can always protect you. If you go to Bingzhou, how can your father protect you?"

Yuan Shu looked straight into his old father's eyes.

"Father, can you protect me for a while? Can you protect me forever? Can I be free from worries forever under your wings?"

Yuan Feng wanted to say yes, but he couldn't say it. He knew he couldn't do it. Even if he said yes, Yuan Shu wouldn't believe it.

But at this moment, he was extremely confused and didn't know what to say. He wanted to agree, but he couldn't say it. His body and brain, reason and emotions were intertwined, making it impossible for him to make a decision.

"How about this, Shu, let's discuss this matter later and just solve the problem at hand, okay?"

Yuan Shu thought about it, looked at Beigong who was in front of him, and nodded slowly.

"it is good."

Yuan Feng finally breathed a sigh of relief and was able to temporarily escape from this predicament.

The father and son soon arrived at the West Palace.

Crossing the bloodstains at the palace gate that had not yet been washed away, Yuan Feng saw the imprisoned Liu Hong crying like a puddle of mud, and the trembling Queen Song beside him with red eyes.

Liu Hong is fifteen this year and Queen Song is only thirteen. Strictly speaking, they are still a boy and a girl. In modern times, they are both junior high school students, but in the Han Dynasty, one is the emperor and the other is the queen.

They really don't look like an emperor and empress.

Liu Hong saw Yuan Feng coming with Yuan Shu following behind him. He wanted to go up and say something, but he was afraid of Yuan Shu who pointed a knife at him last night. So he didn't dare to go forward nor did he want to retreat. He could only look at Yuan Feng with expectant eyes.

"Yuan Taifu, are you here to save me, or... to kill me?"

Seeing this, Yuan Feng felt a little soft-hearted. Just as he was about to say something, Yuan Shu pulled the corner of his clothes and gave him a wink.

Yuan Feng reacted instantly, put away his soft-heartedness, and put on a serious expression.

"Your Majesty, Queen, this is the last time I address you two in this way. Your Majesty, although you have not been on the throne for long, you have done too many wrong things. The people of the world are full of resentment and dissatisfaction towards you, and even threaten the survival of the Han Dynasty. I am not only your Majesty's subject, but also a subject of the Han Dynasty.

"I am not only loyal to Your Majesty, but also to the Han Dynasty. The Han Dynasty is in trouble now, and Your Majesty is not able to deal with it. Please abdicate and let the King of Bohai take over the responsibilities. As for Your Majesty and the Queen, they will naturally be properly handled by the new emperor. I can only say that the Han Dynasty is more important and I am powerless."

Seeing that Yuan Feng, his driver, said this, Liu Hong, who had lost all his eunuch confidants, finally collapsed. He collapsed to the ground and cried bitterly, and turned into a puddle of mud again.

Seeing Liu Hong like this, Queen Song couldn't help but began to wipe away her tears.

Yuan Feng couldn't bear to watch any more, so he turned around and left, and Yuan Shu followed him.

After leaving the palace, Yuan Feng sighed. "The child is innocent, treat him well from now on..."

"The queen is innocent, but as for this emperor, he is not innocent."

Yuan Shu sneered, "Everything the eunuch did was promulgated in his name. It's hard to say how many of them he didn't know about, and how many of them he knew but thought were right. Father, he's fifteen years old, not a child anymore. At least he should understand the right and wrong, right?"

Yuan Feng was stunned for a moment, looked at Yuan Shu, and suddenly felt that what Yuan Shu said made sense.

This Liu Hong may not be innocent.

The things that Yuan father and son had to do came to an end. The next thing was to wait for the good news of the complete purge of eunuchs, and wait for all officials to arrive at Deyang Palace, and then take Liu Kui and Liu Hong to Deyang Palace to complete a relatively simple abdication ceremony.

While waiting, the father and son began to seriously discuss how to reward their subordinates according to their merits and grant them important positions in order to control the government.

How to reward those who already hold official positions and have helped them make contributions?

How to reward those subordinates who have no official positions but are loyal.

How to reward those who need to be won over.

Which ones can be kept and which ones need to be cleared out.

Etc., etc.

While Yuan and his son were discussing the details, a lot of changes also took place in the entire Luoyang city in response to such drastic changes.

The first to be affected were the officials who had been working overtime in the palace last night.

For example, Shaofu Yang Ci.

Yang Ci had no idea how the situation had turned out like this.

On the evening of October 2nd, when Yuan Shu and Yuan Feng launched a mutiny, Yang Ci was on duty in the palace.

According to the custom of the Han Dynasty, officials had to work and stay in the imperial palace unless it was a holiday or they had not taken leave. They could not leave the office and return home to bathe and rest until their holiday.

This practice has been the way monarchs and princes managed their retainers since the Three Dynasties period in ancient times until the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. In a sense, it continued the old custom of the concept of family and country as one.

By the Han Dynasty, after hundreds of years of changes, there had been many changes in the specific implementation level.

Officials were no longer confined to their offices like prisoners, and had greater flexibility in the time and frequency of their stay in and out of the offices.

Depending on the level of official position and the importance of responsibilities, there is greater freedom in specific working hours.

Some minor officials have light duties and relatively leisurely jobs, so no one would mind if they just show up for work for several days in a row. This kind of leisurely position where one can just muddle through and earn a salary is what many lazy workers dream of.

As for officials at the level of Three Dukes and Nine Ministers, how they arrange their working time depends mainly on their own needs and the environment they are in.

For example, Yuan Feng, the Grand Coachman, had an almost idle position because the emperor was controlled by eunuchs and a large amount of power was usurped by eunuchs. Unless he explicitly resisted, he had nothing to do, and things like reporting for work and sitting in the office were more casual.

With Yuan Feng's status, as long as there was nothing clear that required discussion among the three dukes and nine ministers, no one would talk about it even if he didn't go to the palace for a month or two. Anyway, the Yuan family had many eyes and ears, so they could know the important affairs of the court without leaving home.

This also gave Yuan Feng time to plan the mutiny and look for people to drink, chat and express their feelings with.

As a lecturer to the emperor, Yang Ci also had the responsibilities of a Shaofu, and his power was firmly in his hands.

He was responsible for managing the emperor's private treasury, reviewing expenditures and income, and meeting the emperor's daily needs. His work was quite busy, so he often did not go home for several days or even a week or two.

To be precise, Yang Ci has not returned home since September 29th. He has been working in the palace office, or arguing with the eunuchs.

As Liu Hong grew older, his demands for money and material things increased, and the Shaofu became responsible for meeting the emperor's needs in this regard.

However, the income of the Shaofu was limited, the emperor's desires were unlimited, and the eunuchs were taking advantage of the situation, so the savings of the Shaofu were becoming increasingly scarce.

Out of a sense of responsibility, Yang Ci often opposed Liu Hong's needs for money and was unwilling to give him too much money. Liu Hong was dissatisfied and often sent eunuchs to hold him accountable. Yang Ci would then fight back, and the eunuchs would ask again.

As a teacher of classics, Yang Ci lost all face in front of Yuan Shu, but as an imperial teacher, Yang Ci still had some face in front of Liu Hong.

Therefore, the eunuchs did not dare to make things too difficult for him. Since he was in control of the Shaofu's purse, he could actually limit Liu Hong's daily expenses a little.

Yang Ci was very busy with this.

(End of this chapter)