After seeing off Li Jing and his wife, Yang Yinjiang finally had the opportunity to open the letter from her uncle Yang Yue.
The letter stated that the 1,500-mile canal, divided into 23 sections, had been excavated along its entire length. A total of 1.2 million civilians had been recruited. In the past two months, 40,000 people had died.
Yang Yinjiang was dumbfounded.
There have never been so many deaths in Luoyang until now. The canal construction has only been started for two months, so how can there be such a large number of casualties?
The letter made it very clear that Yang Ming's previous sixteen policies were bullshit, and Yang Jie didn't take them seriously at all. Yu Wenkai, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, almost fell out with Yang Jie, but Yang Yue was the peacemaker in the middle.
What Yang Yue meant was that His Majesty would definitely be unhappy with such heavy casualties. After all, with Yang Mingzhuyu in front, it was obvious that Yang Jian was abusing people's power, so he suggested that this matter should not be brought to His Majesty's side first, but should be sent first
People are building momentum for Yang Jian in the capital, and when the time comes, someone will naturally expose him at the Yushitai.
Yang Yinjiang believed that this was an opportunity to bring down the King of Qi. The Minister of Civil Affairs was not Wei Chong now, so no one would protect Yang Jian in terms of specific casualties.
Changsun Chi belongs to the prince, and the prince has always been kind. I'm afraid he will be very angry after knowing this.
So she hurriedly sent her confidant Cui Wei back to Yue Gong's Mansion to inform her grandfather Yang Su about the matter, and he would arrange it himself.
To spread rumors, you need someone, and Yang Su has no shortage of people, and spreading rumors is something he is familiar with, not to mention it's not a rumor.
The Yushitai is responsible for hearing about the incident, and the current Yushi doctor Zhang Heng will definitely not cover it up for Yang Jian. Once this matter is revealed in the court, the emperor will definitely be furious. After all, "loving the people like sons" is what every emperor has to say.
Even if the emperor wanted to cover up the label he affixed, he would not be able to cover it up.
When her husband came back, it was already late at night, and Yang Yinjiang did not tell him about this matter. After all, Yang Ming was a little drunk.
Yang Ming was helped to Li Xiuning's place tonight. The latter had been serving him carefully all night and didn't sleep a wink all night.
It is easy to vomit after drinking alcohol, and it is easy to choke the trachea if you vomit while sleeping, so you need to pay more attention when sleeping after drinking too much. Li Xiuning knows this truth, so she always pays attention to it.
In the early morning, Yang Ming drank a few bowls of gruel and felt much better.
"Don't drink any more tonight. His Highness's reputation for being a drinker is well known throughout the city. How dare they drink you last night?" Li Xiuning complained, "It's very uncomfortable to be drunk."
Yang Ming sat on the couch and said with a smile, "Have you ever been drunk?"
"No," Li Xiuning shook his head and said, "But my father and Jiancheng are often drunk, especially Jiancheng, who acts like a fool every time he drinks too much."
"Haha," Yang Ming laughed heartily.
Suddenly, Yang Ming stopped laughing and asked: "Shimin hasn't come to see you recently, has he?"
"No," Li Xiuning asked curiously, "Why does Your Highness ask this?"
Yang Ming thought for a while and said: "If he asks you for help with anything in the future, you must not agree. At least let me know first."
Li Xiuning nodded without hesitation: "I understand, Your Highness, please rest assured, I will not promise him anything."
In the Sui Dynasty, marrying your husband and following your husband was an ironclad rule for every married woman. Some people knowingly violated it, while others followed it for life.
This guy from Shimin is young and mature, and Yang Ming is really worried that he is poaching himself, although in fact, he is the one who poached Shimin.
Um, first come, first served.
The next day's competition started at chen o'clock in the morning. After all, there was still some distance between the capital and Zuoyiwei Camp.
The players who competed yesterday will also attend the competition today. Su Lie, Luo Yi, and Li Xiaogong are seriously injured and cannot come.
The first one is Qin Shubao.
On the sidelines, Yang Xuanting suddenly said to Yu Wenhuaji who was aside: "Where did you work as a garrison?"
"Which pot should not be opened and lifted, right?" Yu Wenhuaji said angrily.
Both of them are top second-generation officials, and the Sixteen Men are the two of them with the strongest backers, so they have something in common and no one else can get involved.
Yang Xuanting smiled and said: "Don't think too much. Before I was assigned to the army by my father, I was also sent to the army as a pawn. It was the most dangerous time in my life. My life was almost lost on the border."
Yu Wenhuaji nodded. It seemed that Yang was not making fun of himself, so he said:
"In Wuwei County, it was still called Liangzhou at that time. In the first year of Daye, His Majesty restored Wuwei County. At that time, I was in a military mansion in the north of Liangzhou. I was responsible for guarding a mountain road to prevent Turkic bandits from coming in and plundering. There were people in the camp.
There are only 300 people, and a few die every day. I live in fear."
Yang Xuanting asked: "How many people are there in Liangzhou Military Mansion?"
"About four to five thousand," Yu Wenhuaji said: "The population there is small, so many of the garrison troops are actually criminals who were exiled in the past."
Yang Xuanting nodded and said: "With four or five thousand, we can defend Liangzhou. If we have four or five thousand, I would dare to attack Tuguhun."
"That's enough," Yu Wenhuaji whispered: "It seems that I also know that Your Majesty is going to attack Tuguhun?"
"I heard that I heard about it, but I'm just speaking out of my feelings at the moment," Yang Xuanting shook his head: "I just heard that 40,000 to 50,000 people have died within two months of the construction of the Huanghuai Canal. I just feel
Incredible, it would be great if you gave me these 40,000 to 50,000 horses."
"What? Forty or fifty thousand people died?" Yu Wenhuaji said in shock: "It has been more than a year since the construction started in Luoyang, and less than twenty thousand people have died. The canal can kill so many people in two months, so why don't you mess with me?"
"
In addition to Yu Wenhuaji, other Mengshi also heard this sentence. Everyone looked at me and I looked at you, looking at each other in shock.
Yang Xuanting suddenly nudged Yu Wenhuaji with his elbow, and Yang said angrily:
"Keep your voice down."
After saying that, he turned around and looked at Shi Wanbao and others behind him: "Don't let me sell you out. Keep your mouth shut."
"Don't worry, I won't say anything," Shi Wanbao and others nodded quickly.
Yang Xuanting's rank is not high, but his father is high, so everyone gives in to him. This is the officialdom of the Sui Dynasty. I'm not afraid of you, I'm afraid of your father.
Yang Xuanting glared at Yu Wenhuaji and said in a low voice: "How dare you sell me out if I didn't say it? I can't get around you."
"Brother, what are you talking about?" Yu Wenhuaji said, "My little brother has nothing but loyalty."
Yang Xuanting nodded and continued to look into the field to watch the competition between the two sides.
In fact, situations like his are happening in countless corners of the stands.
Spreading lies and spreading rumors, four or fifty thousand became seventy or eighty thousand, and seventy or eighty thousand became hundreds of thousands.
So much so that today, in addition to knowing who won and who lost, everyone also knows that many people died on the other side of the canal.
Today's five games, four wins and one loss, Qin Shubao, Pei Xingyan, Lai Zheng, Liang Shidu, all won. Duan Zhen, the eldest son of Duan Wenzhen, the Minister of War, lost, but he was just seriously injured like Li Xiaogong who lost yesterday, but
not dead.
According to the rules of the game, raising your right hand to the main stand means admitting defeat. These two knew they were no match, so they gave up early.
This was also Yang Ming's instruction to them before the game. If they felt the situation was not good, they should quickly raise their hands. It is better to lose face than lose their lives.
Duan Chen and Li Xiaogong were both sons of officials, and it would be difficult to account for whoever died.
Of the four games the Tiele people lost today, only one died. It was not as heavy a loss as yesterday. The main reason was that Yu Wenhuaji had a good start yesterday, and Shi Wanbao and Yang Xuanting were both killers, fighting for their lives.
Today, both sides have restrained themselves a bit.
After eleven games, the Sui Dynasty won nine games. Tiele's Chebikatu had lost all face and lost troops.
Now, he has no intention of sleeping with a woman. He only thinks about how to explain to his father Khan after returning to Tiele.
Due to Yang Su's deliberate spread, an official from Yushitai entered the palace that night.
"Is this what everyone in the capital is saying now?" In the study, Yang Guang put down the brush in his hand and asked with a frown.
In addition to him, there are also living room attendants Yu Shinan and Wang Zhuoling in the study.
Wang Zhuoling has now been named Jieyu.
Today, good news came frequently. Yang Guang was in a good mood and was very interested. He was copying an original work of Wang Xizhi in his study.
The official said: "It's been spreading like this. I heard that everyone in the camp on the outskirts of Beijing knows about it today."
"Is it really fake? There is no such report at Luoyang Yushitai," Yang Guang frowned in thought.
The official said: "I don't know this. I heard that it is my duty to report things. I also heard too many people mention it, so I reported it to Your Highness overnight."
The Yushitai department has been the emperor's eyes and ears since its establishment. Their butts must not be crooked, and they can only be loyal to the emperor.
No matter there is any trouble, they will report it to the emperor as soon as possible. As for whether it is true or not, the emperor will check it himself.
Yang Guang waved his hand: "I understand, let's go down."
After that, Yang Guang returned to the table and started writing, but he couldn't continue after just a few words.
Yu Shinan on the side said: "Your Majesty is absent-minded. It's better not to copy today, for fear of losing your standard."
Yang Guang nodded and sighed:
"Bo Shi and Yu Shinanzi do you think this matter is true or false?"
Yu Shinan shook his head and said: "I dare not make false claims. Maybe your Majesty can send someone to Luoyang to investigate and then we can know."
Yang Guang chuckled and said: "I think it's probably true. If there were really no deaths in Luoyang, the capital would not be making groundless rumors. But I feel that the rumors must be exaggerated. Forty thousand people? There can't be so many."
.”
Yu Shinan nodded and said: "I also think it is impossible to have so many people. Tokyo has been under construction for a year and a half, and less than 20,000 people have died. The canal has just started. How can it be as exaggerated as the rumors say."
"It's not easy to worry about." Yang Guang sighed: "It is said that the eldest Sun Chi has entered the palace."
Chamberlain Takano nodded and went out to summons.
Changsun Chi had just taken office and was not familiar with many of the government affairs of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, so he had not left the official office these days and was in the imperial city morning and night.
The canal's recruitment of civilian workers and food supply all depended on him, and the burden on him was not light.
There are also officials from the Ministry of Civil Affairs stationed there in Luoyang, so he has two different reports on the casualties.
One report was sent to the capital by Wei Jin, the minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the other was reported to him privately by a minor official in the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
As soon as Changsun Chi took office, this minor official was assigned to the Ministry of Civil Affairs and sent to Luoyang.
No matter which department you serve in, without your own people, you are destined to accomplish nothing. With two completely different reports, Changsun Chi certainly knows who to trust.
But the matter was of great importance, and he was not sure for the moment. He planned to wait until the prince felt better in a few days, and then report to the prince first, and then ask for advice on the next step.
At this time, someone from the concierge reported that the chamberlain, Shougang Neishang, Takano, had arrived, saying that His Majesty had summoned him.
Changsun Chi quickly put on his Jinxian crown, straightened his robes, and left the office.