Memoirs of the Heavenly Khan

Chapter 219 Your Majesty has misled me
Shaanxi City.

Li Shuang led three thousand cavalrymen back to Guanzhong from Luoyang, passing through Shancheng, where Xue Xiuyi and Su Chuo were already waiting outside the city.

"I've met my lord!"

Li Shuang temporarily stationed the cavalry outside the city and then returned to the city garrison with the two men.

After returning to the city garrison, Li Shuang looked at the two of them and said:

"Once things are settled here, you will all come with me back to Chang'an!"

"Thank you, my lord!"

At this time, Chang'an City had been completed, and the main buildings within the city had also been finished. The remaining large areas of open land still needed to be filled.

"My lord, more than five million shi of grain have been transported from Luoyang back to Guanzhong and stored in warehouses. In addition, there are more than two hundred thousand bolts of brocade and various other items, all of which have been registered and sent to the Tang State Duke's mansion in Chang'an."

Five million shi of grain sounds like a lot, but it wouldn't be enough to fill the three newly built large granaries in Guanzhong.

Li Shuang nodded, and Su Chuo continued:
"Furthermore, there are a large amount of building materials in this city. I wonder what should be done with them?"

The mansions of high-ranking officials in Luoyang were built with the finest materials, and the pillars of their residences were all transported from the south at exorbitant prices.

Su Chuo handed the ledger to Li Shuang, who glanced at it and said...

"Leave it to Wang Sizheng and let him handle it!"

As an infrastructure expert and a city-building fanatic, Wang Sizheng is very good at handling building materials.

Yuan Ziyou has already issued an edict that Hongnong County and Luozhou, west of Shancheng, and the Hedong region except for Pingyang County, will all be under the jurisdiction of Li Shuang's Guanzhong Grand Secretariat.

Li Shuang wasn't too worried about Hedong. As long as Baibi City remained in his hands, even if Pingyang County fell under Erzhu Rong's control, the heartland of Hedong wouldn't be affected. Besides, Hedong wasn't the focus of the dispute at this time; Erzhu's military might was directed towards Hebei, east of the Taihang Mountains.

As for Luozhou, with Wuguan Pass as a strategic pass, there's really nothing to worry about.

The key is in Hongnong County.

Among the ancestral homes of Hongnong, the Yang family of Hongnong is the most prominent.

The Yang family of Hongnong was already prominent during the Han Dynasty, with four generations producing three dukes, ranking alongside the Yuan family of Runan.

Today, the Yuan family of Runan has long since perished due to the ambitions of the two Yuan brothers, while the Yang family of Hongnong remains one of the prominent families. However, the Yang family of Hongnong has also experienced considerable turmoil.

The reason, in fact, lies in the awkward geographical conditions of Hongnong.

Hongnong is located between Luoyang and Guanzhong, and is a necessary passage for traveling between the two places.

Once a powerful force establishes its capital in Luoyang, then Hongnong will be something it must control.

When a dynasty prospers, the Yang family of Hongnong will naturally share in its glory. However, when a dynasty declines, the Yang family of Hongnong will inevitably be implicated due to their deep ties with the Luoyang court.

During the Western Jin Dynasty, the three Yang brothers were executed along with their entire clan after losing a political struggle.

Regardless of whether the Hongnong Yang clan of today is the same as the Hongnong Yang clan of the Han Dynasty, their relationship with the Luoyang court will not change.

Perhaps for this reason, the vast Hongnong County was mostly rural, with few decent cities to be seen.

In addition to Shancheng, Li Shuang planned to have Wang Sizheng build additional cities along both banks of the Yellow River in Hongnong County. Fortunately, the materials were readily available.

Shouting sounds came from outside the mansion.

"You broke your promise!"

"Who!"

As Li Shuang inquired, Xue Xiuyi replied:
"It's that kid you threw onto the ship, my lord!"

Why did he say you were untrustworthy?

Xue Xiuyi laughed and said:
“Just a few months ago, the Duke brought in a large amount of grain, and we were worried because we didn’t have enough manpower in Shaanxi. Then Yang Yin said he had a solution. He summoned people from all over Hongnong County to help us transport the grain. I promised him that after it was done, I would let him go back to Luoyang.”

Li Shuang smiled.

"Let him in!"

Several months later, Yang Yin finally met the person who had kidnapped him that day again.

Yang Yin immediately began to curse:

"Ohno Sou, you have no respect for your superiors!"

Li Shuang laughed when he heard the insult.

"How can you be so disrespectful to your sovereign?" "His Majesty wants to betroth Princess Shouyang to you, but you actually refuse. Isn't that disrespectful to your sovereign?"

At this moment, Xue Xiuyi whispered in Li Shuang's ear:

"Duke, this lad is sometimes naive and sometimes shrewd, but he's quite capable."

Li Shuang nodded and said:

"Since he has promised you that you can leave after the deed is done, then you should leave now!"

Yang Yin crossed his arms and plopped down on the floor.

"You think I don't know I'm not leaving? Wait until I leave Shaanxi City, then have him tie me up and bring me back. That way, I'll have fulfilled my promise!"

As soon as Yang Yin finished speaking, everyone in the room laughed.

"My lord, I knew this lad was shrewd at times."

Li Shuang looked at Yang Yin and asked:

"If that's the case, what do you want?"

Yang Yin stated the purpose of his visit and bowed, saying:

“Hongnong County is now under the direct administration of the state, and I want to stay here.”

"Why?"

"The Emperor has disappointed me greatly!"

Yang Yin's words surprised everyone present. But Yang Yin continued speaking, completely ignoring the reactions of those around him.

“Since Yuan Ziyou ascended the throne, he has been building up a large following. Especially after Erzhu Rong left, he became even more unscrupulous, making it known to everyone. I have heard about it here. With such actions, how can he not be defeated? I am afraid that my Hongnong Yang clan will be implicated by him.”

"Then you should tell your father, Yang Jin!"

Yang Yin sighed.

"It's no use saying anything. At least Hongnong County is now under the jurisdiction of the State, which is much better than it being under the jurisdiction of Yuan Ziyou."

"Then you may stay!"

Yang Yin nodded, then suddenly looked at Li Shuang and the other two.

"I have said so many treasonous things and even addressed the emperor by his name. Don't you find that astonishing?"

"what is this!"

Seeing Li Shuang and the others' nonchalant attitude, Yang Yin seemed to understand.

He's stumbled into the den of traitors!
-
Luoyang.

Seeing his younger sister, Princess Shouyang, weeping and wailing, Yuan Ziyou advised her:
"Stop crying. Ohno Sō is just a bandit after all. Besides, didn't you never want to marry him in the first place?"

Yuan Juli wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, feeling somewhat aggrieved.

"This is all your fault, Your Majesty!"

"Blame me?"

Yuan Juli said indignantly:

"His Majesty often says that Li Shuang is a bandit, and I thought he looked like a fierce and menacing man, so of course I didn't want to marry him! But later I saw him outside the palace and found that he didn't look like a bandit at all. His Majesty has misled me!"

Although Yuan Ziyou was a puppet emperor, many of the eunuchs and palace maids in the Luoyang palace were his close confidants, so he still retained his authority.

Yuan Ziyou's expression darkened upon hearing Yuan Juli's words.

"It's too late for you to say that now, he's already gone!"

Yuan Juli stood up and threw a tantrum.

"I don't care, Erzhu Shilong has been bothering me again these past two days since Li Shuang left. If it really comes down to it, I might as well become a nun!"

"How dignified!"

Yuan Ziyou scolded her, but looking at her aggrieved younger sister, she felt somewhat helpless and said:
"If all else fails, go to Hu Xuanhui's place. She has already become a nun. You can follow her and cultivate yourself for now!"

……

(End of this chapter)