Memoirs of the Heavenly Khan

Chapter 197 The Greatest Risk
The northern part of Chang'an.

After settling the soldiers in Qizhou, Li Shuang led his army back to Chang'an.

The site of Chang'an City remains densely populated today. New houses and markets are being built one after another. Merchants from both inside and outside Guanzhong bring their goods to these markets to trade, and supplies brought by cargo ships from all over Guanzhong are also gathered in the warehouses here.

Although the city of Chang'an on the south bank of the Wei River was burned down, people's needs remained, and with the convenient water transport conditions, various economic activities flourished.

Li Shuang designated the area originally occupied by Chang'an City as the Forbidden Garden, and within the Forbidden Garden, he established a small city called Beiyi to settle displaced people.

In contrast, a new city was built south of Longshouyuan.

The location of this new city is similar to that of the imperial city of Chang'an during the Sui and Tang dynasties. It expands to the north, south, and east, and draws water from the Longshou Canal into the city for domestic use.

Yuwen Kai built Daxing City in just ten months, but that was only possible because the Sui Dynasty unified the country, was able to gather the best craftsmen and resources from all over the country, and had to make meticulous plans.

Today, the scale and specifications of this new city are far inferior to those of Daxing City. The construction is less difficult, but the progress is much slower.

The structure of the new city is quite simple. In the center of the city is the Xingtai Mansion, and to the north of the Xingtai Mansion is the Tang Gong Mansion. Twelve neighborhoods and one market neighborhood are temporarily laid out in the east, west and south directions.

When the new city was first built, a large amount of supplies had to be transported from Beiyi in Chang'an to the new city.

Hou Jing was placed in charge of guarding Beiyi.

"How is it?"

Li Shuang led his army back, and Hou Jing personally greeted them at the dock. As Li Shuang inquired, Hou Jing patted his chest and said:
"Rest assured, my lord, with me here, everything is perfectly safe here!"

Although Hou Jing was infamous, he was not lacking in ability. When Li Shuang left, Beiyi was still quite desolate. The markets and houses there were not nearly as numerous as they appear today, and the population was not as dense.

When Li Shuang returned from suppressing the rebels in Jing, Bin, and Qi prefectures, Beiyi had shaken off its depression and entered a period of rapid development. The population was growing rapidly, and various houses and commercial buildings were being newly constructed.

"However, I have heard that things are not peaceful in Luoyang."

Inside the main tent, Hou Jing's face showed a hint of worry. With so many people coming and going, and Hou Jing in charge of Beiyi, he naturally knew a lot of information.

"Is it the emperor again?"

Hou Jing nodded.

"Since the young emperor assumed power, he has been trying to investigate official corruption, allow the people to rest, and settle the refugees outside Luoyang. But things are getting more and more chaotic. Recently, he has also set his sights on the salt tax in Hedong. I have heard that since he assumed power, the thing that this boy is most concerned about is the situation in Guanzhong. He is trying to find ways to cause trouble for the lord."

"Ignore it!"

"What does my lord mean?"

"There's no need for anyone else to sabotage it; the palaces in Luoyang will collapse on their own."
-
Luoyang, Xianyang Palace.

"Build a city? What gives him the right to build a city? Where does he get the money to build a city?"

Upon learning that the Central Secretariat in the new city of Chang'an had been completed, Yuan Xu was furious and unleashed a barrage of profanities.

The officials and nobles in the hall looked quite embarrassed.

Yuan Xu, however, paid no attention to the expressions of the assembled officials, focusing instead on the matter that concerned him most.

"The salt tax in Hedong has long been plagued by serious malpractices; it's time for a thorough investigation!"

The salt tax from Hedong was extremely important, serving as a significant source of revenue for the Northern Wei Dynasty. Especially now, with the Northern Wei's fiscal expenditures increasing dramatically while its fiscal revenues declined year after year.

The officials and nobles had complicated expressions.

It should be said that the young emperor's direction in governance was correct, but his methods were too naive. He naively believed that as long as an edict was issued from the Xianyang Palace in Luoyang, local officials would obediently carry out his orders.

Not to mention how many people in Luoyang were involved in the salt tax issue in Hedong.

It would have been better if they hadn't investigated; if they have, they might not have been able to collect 30% of the salt tax.

Prince Chang Le, Yuan Ziyou, wanted to speak up to stop it, but was dissuaded by Yuan Yong.

But in the end, Yuan Xu still set his sights on him.

"Prince Chang Le, what do you think?"

Yuan Ziyou reluctantly stepped out of the procession and said, "I believe this matter should be postponed."

"Why?"

"After Li Shuang quelled the rebellion of Xiao Baoyin and Wanqi Chounu, the court repeatedly issued decrees ordering him to abolish the policy of using local militias and return the land, but he turned a deaf ear. If the salt tax is investigated at this time, there may be trouble in Guanzhong."

Something changed?

After Yuan Xu assumed power, he failed to accomplish anything he set out to do. Therefore, he became even more eager to prove his ability and authority.

"What would he dare to do? Go into Luoyang and assassinate the emperor?"

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the assembled officials changed drastically. They wanted to offer advice, but seeing the emperor's raging anger, they dared not step forward, leaving Yuan Ziyou alone to bear the brunt of the attack.

Yuan Ziyou has been helping Yuan Xu clean up the mess he couldn't finish these days, and has earned a reputation for virtue.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Xu was not pleased; instead, he was very displeased with Yuan Ziyou.

"That is not my intention! The empire has just been pacified, and at this time, it is better to remain calm than to take action. Moreover, the number of refugees outside Luoyang is increasing, and the most urgent task is to deal with these people first!"

Yuan Xu listened and had an idea.

"I have allocated a large amount of money and grain to provide generous support for these refugees who came from Guanzhong. Now, it is time for them to give back!"

No one knew what Yuan Xu was planning, so they heard him say:
"I intend to select the elite among them to form a new army!"

Upon hearing this, the officials could no longer ignore it and all came forward to offer their advice.

"Your Majesty!"

The emperor is completely unaware of the situation outside Luoyang!

Although the imperial court provided money and grain to settle these refugees, it was far from being a generous arrangement. It's one thing for these refugees to be unarmed now, but once they were armed, would they obey the emperor's wishes and go back to fight Li Shuang?
"The rebellion in the Six Garrisons is still recent, and Hebei has not yet been pacified. If Luoyang falls into chaos again, the state of Wei may be in danger. Your Majesty should think this through carefully!"

Seeing so many high-ranking officials stand up against him, Yuan Xu was furious, but he dared not go against the wishes of the crowd.

"I will personally go to the refugee camp outside Luoyang to take a look before making a decision."

……

Outside Xianyang Hall, Yuan Yong took a deep breath; his entire back was soaked with sweat.

He was genuinely terrified.

Since the emperor assumed personal rule, he has been acting on a whim, and today he even wants to use the refugees outside Luoyang as soldiers.

If this succeeds, Luoyang will be thrown into chaos.

Yuan Ziyou then caught up and walked to Yuan Yong's side.

"Prime Minister!"

Yuan Yong glanced at Yuan Ziyou.

Yuan Ziyou's expression was somewhat strange, and he asked him a question.

"Your Majesty is going to the refugee camp, which is a rather chaotic place. What should we do if something goes wrong?"

"That……"

Yuan Yong instinctively wanted to suggest strengthening security, but as the words reached his lips, he noticed Yuan Ziyou's expression and his heart sank.

The greatest risk to the Great Wei court right now is the person in that position.

Thinking of the panic and unease of the past few days, Yuan Yong said slowly:

"The affairs of the world still require the Prince of Chang Le to shoulder more responsibility!"

……

(End of this chapter)