[Chapter 14 - Don"t panic Xi Nan King] Lord Wen, he has gone to Shu Zhong (1)

During the morning court of the second day, after discussion of various government affairs was finished, a group of old officials began to kneel uncoordinatedly in front of the throne . Looking at the missive in front that was pa.s.sed to him, he already knew the contents before he turned it open; Chu Yuan"s head begun to throb painfully once again .

"Your Majesty, this time it truly can"t be delayed anymore . " Lord w.a.n.g said with great feeling, his att.i.tude earnest .

"What is it that can"t be delayed anymore?" Chu Yuan knew but still asked .

"Naturally it"s about the selection of impeccable women into the palace . " Lord w.a.n.g answered .

"We have said before, before the battles at Xi Bei is finished, this issue will be postponed and discussed later . " Chu Yuan frowned .

"Your Majesty . " Lord w.a.n.g knocked his head on the ground, "The battles at Xi Bei has been going on for long, the late emperor has sent out great generals, leading troops to eradicate them more than ten times, spending an entire twenty some years before subduing the disorder, and yet they are not completely crushed, the tribes of the northern desert still eyes our great Chu covetously, if it"s during this period of time, I"m afraid it will be dreadful . "

"Wen Liu Nian . " Chu Yuan rubbed his forehead .

The rest of the people below looked at each other, what did the emperor say just now? Lord w.a.n.g"s eyes also showed doubt, what"s the meaning of Wen Lin Nian?

"Commoner greets Your Majesty . " Wen Liu Nian came forward and curtsied . Everyone then found out, that behind the rows of officials, there was someone standing there an unknown time ago .

"How do you look at this?" Chu Yuan asked . Wen Liu Nian unconsciously wanted to scratch his face, but thought afterwards that it"s not quite suitable for the situation now, and so quickly put his hand back . Previously the emperor only said he wanted to discuss issues during morning court, but didn"t specify what issues; he thought that it will at least be about the expansion of the Jiang Nan transport ca.n.a.l or the plans of the Xi Bei battles, and yet did not expect that it would actually be the issue of choosing someone to be an empress .

"Why are you not talking?" Looking at him continuing to remain silent, Chu Yuan"s tone seemed unhappy .

"Replying to Your Majesty, according to what this commoner sees, the battles of Xi Bei will also not drag on for long . " Wen Liu Nian cleared his throat, answering bright and clear, "Within three years, the traitorous troops of the northern desert can be driven out to the north of Hu Ta river, returning peace to the people at the border . "

"Why?" Chu Yuan is very interested .

Wen Liu Nian quickly said: "Naturally it"s because of Your Majesty"s astounding might over nine provinces . " Once this sentence was said, the rest of the officials gained a sense of admiration; everyone will offer ample adulation, but this kind of bald and blunt praise, it"s not often seen . The corners of Chu Yuan"s mouth lifted .

"Also because it"s like this lord says, before now, the late emperor has already spent twenty years in eradicating the treasonous troops . " Wen Liu Nian continued, "Although the northern desert tribes are brave and good fighters, they do not have the sufficient food supplies of our great Chu; the recent intrusions into our border again and again, first it"s because of their wild ambitions, and yet more so it"s because after many years of campaigns, the entire plains already long thinks that the sounds of the wind and calls of the goose are the enemy catching up with them, and that the gra.s.ses and trees are the enemy troops; there"s absolutely no way to peacefully stock up food supplies, they could only rely on s.n.a.t.c.hing desperately, or else I"m afraid that they will not even last next winter . "

"And so?" Lord w.a.n.g derided, "The tribes of the northern desert has always been nomads, it"s not just these two years that they are this way . "

"And yet frequent defeats are only in these two years . " Wen Liu Nian said, "The northern desert troops are brave, but wars do not just rely on physique, but also strategies . During the late emperor"s reign, the leader of the northern desert tribes was named The Great Desert Jackal De Kan Ha; although he was killed by our great Chu"s warriors at Hu Er river, but he was inherently a natural army commander with outstanding strategies, and was not easy to deal with . Now that the northern desert units have all disbanded and scattered, and with much difficulty was unified as one by one of the tribes not so long ago, they have not yet become monumental, the current situation can"t be said in the same breath as the former one . And yet it"s our great Chu"s time of powerful troops and strong horses; after so many years of acc.u.mulation, they have long been familiar with the fighting styles of the great desert territories; Great General Shen Qian Fan is ever-victorious leading the troops, and most importantly, my emperor is this clever and ethereal; an insignificant gang of northern desert bandits, how can be it considered a disaster?"

"Since it"s not enough to be a disaster, then the issue of taking an empress should be given more thought; to choose and invite impeccable women into the palace . " Lord w.a.n.g insisted, "Why wait still?"

"Choosing impeccable women sounds simple, but behind it are a great expenditure of taels . A few years ago Jiang Nan had frequent flooding, and the imperial court spent a great amount of money to change the flow of the transport ca.n.a.l at all costs . I don"t know if this lord has personally seen it, but until this day, there are still tens of thousands of laborers toiling in the frigid cold and scorching heat through day and night, even if they are only away from their home some ten li, it"s hard for them to go back to meet with their wife and child; all just so that the work will be completed before this year"s flood season, protecting the vast and fertile Yangtze Plains . " Wen Liu Nian said distinctly, "If the choosing of ladies is to take place at this time, one, it will give the already busy Jiang Nan prefecture one more huge task to do, and also in the hearts of the people, I"m afraid they will also have quite a few unhappy words . "

Silence fell upon the court .

"His Majesty did not sleep, did not rest, all for the affairs of the country; he truly has contemplated deeply with devotion to the world . If the late emperor knows of this, he will also be moved to tears in happiness . " Wen Liu Nian"s voice is trembling and somber, the scene just lacks him sobbing and kneeling on the ground, not getting up .

"All the officials, is there anything else to say?" Chu Yuan rubbed his chin .

Below the throne, not one person answered .

"This is this year"s examination script . " Chu Yuan indicated for Si Xi to pa.s.s it down to let every official read and pa.s.s it on, "Beloved Subject Wen was unwell on the day of the examination, and was unable to finish his essay, but it was overly rich and learned, and so Tai Fu handed this script to us on his own initiative . This matter already flouts the rules, so we wish to ask the officials, this Tan Hua Lang (2), should we grant it or not . "

It"s already Beloved Subject Wen, don"t mention Tan Hua, even if it"s Zhuang Yuan, no one would dare to oppose too . And so all the officials nodded, and offered their congratulations .

"Did you just happened to be unwell on the day of the examination, or has been sickly all along?" To the side, Lord asked with squinted eyes .

Wen Liu Nian scratched his face, and said embarra.s.sedly: "The day before the imperial examination, I couldn"t endure anymore and ate two roast ducks, so my stomach was aching as if it"s in knots . "

Chu Yuan let slip his laughter .

Lord w.a.n.g: " . . . . . "

"Official Zhang . " Chu Yuan said, "If you have finished reading this half-written examination script, then pa.s.s it to Lord Li at your back, he has already stood on his toes to glance at it for a long while . "

The rest all laughed; the Minister of Industry Zhang Li snapped back to the present, saying with a bow: "Although the essay is terse, but the views on naval laws mentioned within are outstanding and unique, this subject is really sweating with shame . "

"If any officials have any more thoughts or doubts, say it without hesitation . " Chu Yuan said, "We also wish to see, if not for the esteemed Tai Fu, what kind of talented person can those two roast ducks cost my Great Chu . "

Wen Liu Nian had a strong urge to scratch his face again .

Why is the roast duck mentioned again, they were all bony, so he didn"t eat much anyway .

From the ancient times where the court commenced, there isn"t once where it"s like this, where groups of official engaged one person in a battle of tongues .

Wen Liu Nian talked neither fast or slow, his voice is also not loud either, but his conviction is very full . If the lords at the front really wish to feel him out, his elegant and elaborate words are simply unending; if met with officials purely offering concealed insults, his ways of making one unable to catch their breath is also yet another level higher and stronger . After all the officials have dispersed, Wen Liu Nian patted his sleeves, and said with a smile, "Cheng Rang (3)", his entire self emitting a learned and refined air .

Inside, Chu Yuan is overjoyed; in truth this should be one of his most carefree days in recent times .

The matter of selecting impeccable women has been restrained once more; in the short term no one will bring it up again . Wen Liu Nian rode his horse in the spring breeze through a long street, wearing a great red satin flower on his chest, there"s even people beating drums and cheering along the way . The people all squeeze on the two sides of the streets to look, and all said no wonder the people in the parade are all Tan Hua Lang, they truly look handsome .

Lord Liu Da Jiong said with antic.i.p.ation: "Has Lord Wen married before?"

"Not yet not yet . " Wen Liu Nian smiled brilliantly, showing a mouth of small white teeth .

"Very good very good . " Liu Da Jiong patted his leg satisfyingly, still calculating in his heart which niece to marry to him, and yet Chu Yuan has already sent down a royal order, sending Wen Liu Nian to Yun Lan city, to be a trivial Qi Ping provincial governor .

Regarding this, all officials do not quite understand; looking at how much he is liked, they expected he will be left to fill in the vacancies in the imperial court, why was he pushed with a branch all the way to the Shu area?

Chu Yuan had his own considerations, he originally did want to let him stay on, but Wen Liu Nian put forward that he wishes to go and be a local official for a few years, and so Chu Yuan went along with the flow and agreed, sending him to Yun Lan city, Shu Zhong to be a county magistrate — that is the place of Zhui Yin sect . Since he is able to engage in a battle of tongues with the many officials, then if he is be able to persuade Zhui Yin sect leader Qin Shao Yu to come to the imperial court to be an official; it"s also a lucky matter .

Wen Liu Nian left the capital after ten days, and happily went to Shu Zhong, leading on horse . And so in the ten plus days after that, the content of the letters that Xi Nan manor received are approximately this: The emperor and the gifted Jiang Nan scholar chatted for a long time,over the night without sleep . The name of the gifted scholar is Wen Liu Nian . Wen Liu Nian looks quite good . The emperor favors him a lot . The emperor invites him into the palace every day, and even has meals together, and specially ordered for the imperial kitchen to make roast duck . Lord Liu Da Jiong brought up marriage matters, but the emperor rejected on behalf of him instead .

Just when Duan Bai Yue, ruffled with anger, intends to rush towards the capital through day and night, another secret letter was sent quickly over a distance of eight hundred li — that Lord Wen has been sent to Yun Lan city in Shu Zhong to be a county magistrate, and has left .

Duan Bai Yue, with an dark face, bolted on his horse back again .

Duan Yao"s back is pressed against the wall, carefully shifting towards his room .

"Yao-er!" Duan Bai Yue said .

Duan Yao sighed, how did he still get found out .

Duan Yao sighed, how did he still get found out .

"Where did you go again?" Duan Bai Yue frowned .

"Only to the forest at the back of the mountain . " Duan Yao"s hands is holding two snakes, "Freshly caught, want to eat?"

Duan Bai Yue: " . . . . . . "

"I"ll leave first . " Duan Yao took the chance to turn away .

"Come back!" Duan Bai Yue frowned .

Duan Yao: " . . . . "

"You fought with someone?" Duan Bai Yue pinched his ear .

" . . . . was scratched by branches . " Duan Yao mumbled .

"Who?" Duan Bai Yue"s expression turned grim; in Xi Nan manor, there shouldn"t be anyone who would raise a hand against him .

Duan Yao said churlishly: "Don"t know . "

Duan Bai Yue looked at him silently .

Duan Yao: " . . . . . "

"Talk!" Duan Bai Yue"s voice suddenly sharpened .

Duan Yao covered his head and squatted on the ground, not even bothering to pick up his snakes, admitting weakly: "I went to the forbidden area . "

Duan Bai Yue raised his hand .

Duan Yao started crying and wailing loudly .

"What happened what happened?" In almost a blink of an eye, someone ran in from outside .

"What happened what happened?" In almost a blink of an eye, someone ran in from outside .

"Auntie Jin . " Duan Yao cried harder .

"Master!" The person who came in is a woman around forty years of age, after taking in the scene, quickly took Duan Yao into her embrace, "Everything is fine, why do you want to hit young master . "

"Ask where did he go . " Duan Bai Yue said angrily .

Duan Yao whimpered with all his might .

"Where can he still go, Yi Hong Yuan (4)?" Auntie Jin helped him to wipe his face, "He"s already thirteen, what will happen if he went there, next time auntie will accompany you there . "

Duan Bai Yue shook his head, and didn"t have time to say anything else, turning and going to the back of the mountain to see what has happened .

Duan Yao wiped his snot on his sleeves forcefully .

It"s just a place to imprison criminals, why can"t he go there .

So fierce .

On the way to the back of the mountain, Duan Bai Yue saw that the east side of the forest is in a mess; someone obviously just fought before here .

Walking further, a bearded man is currently sitting under a tree, recovering his breath .

"My brother is young and doesn"t know his manners, he offended just offended this great master just now . " Duan Bai Yue stopped and stood ten steps away from him .

The man blinked open his eyes, and said impatiently: "Go ask your father, when can the antidote be made, so that this old fellow be released?"

(1) Shu Zhong: 蜀中 - Shu is the name of an extinct empire, defeated by Qin . Zhong is middle . Shu used to be around Si Chuan province is now, so the two words together means around the middle of current day Si Chuan province .

(2) Tan Hua Lang: 探花郎 - Tan Hua is the third place in the imperial examinations, Lang means youth . Basically saying if Wen Liu Nian should be given Tan Hua and become a Tan Hua Lang .

(3) Cheng Rang: 承让 - It"s a polite term said by a winner to a loser, implying that they only won because the loser let them .

(4) Yi Hong Yuan: 怡红院 - A real place in beijing, but in this case it"s probably a brothel?