Chapter 48 Shen Guang
So Liu Shu and others asked Liang Pi, the Grand Secretary of the Dali Temple and Marquis of Handan County, to impeach Yang Su. Liang Pi was not an ordinary person and had a great reputation in the court and the country.

A few years ago, when he was the governor of Xining Prefecture, the chieftains of Xining agreed to give gold to congratulate him. Liang Pi placed the gold beside his seat and cried to them, "This is not enough to eat when hungry, and not enough to wear when cold. You have fought for this useless thing for decades, and countless people have died and injured. Now you have given it to me, but you also want to kill me!"

In the end, there was nothing to be gained, so everything was returned. The barbarian chiefs then realized their mistake and stopped attacking each other. The story of Liang Pi crying at Jin became a beautiful story.

At the court meeting, the emperor asked Liang Pi why he wanted to impeach Zuo Pushe. Liang Pi was thin and of ordinary appearance. He stepped out and pointed at Yang Su and said, "I have heard that I do not abuse my power. If I abuse my power, it will harm my family and harm the country. Zuo Pushe, Duke of Yue, Yang Su, has been favored by the emperor and his power is growing day by day. Those who disobey him are like severe frost in summer, and those who obey his will are like rich rain in winter. His prosperity and decline are determined by his lips, and his rise and fall depend on his command."

"Those who are favored are not loyal and honest, and those who are promoted are all relatives. Their sons and grandsons are scattered all over the country, and they control states and counties. The world is at peace, but if they allow other people to plot, the whole world will be in danger, which will surely be the beginning of disaster!"

This means that Yang Su was domineering and arrogant, and under his power, only relatives, nephews, or flatterers could be promoted. If this continued for a long time, he would inevitably become a powerful official like Wang Mang, Cao Cao, and Huan Xuan, bringing chaos to the country.

Naturally, Yang Su knelt down and pleaded his case. Yang Jian comforted him by remembering his many years of contributions and hard work. He also severely reprimanded Liang Pi and ordered him to be dragged away.

After the court was dismissed, Liang Pi requested an audience with the emperor, but the emperor was in no mood to see him. However, Liu Shu accompanied the princess into the palace and handed Liang Pi's last knife to him.

"Your Majesty, Yang Su was a man of power and favor. He killed people without reason when he was a general. When the Crown Prince and the King of Shu were deposed, all the officials were horrified, but he was the only one who raised his eyebrows and pumped his elbows, overjoyed. It was obvious that he was looking forward to the country's trouble so that he could take the opportunity to improve his own status."

The princess also helped to persuade him. After Dugu Jialuo's death, Yang Jian had become more suspicious and fickle, and he was very surprised to see his most trusted daughter and son-in-law saying this.

Thinking about the power of the Yang family now, he suddenly shuddered, so he asked Liu Shu to go to the Yang family to convey the order: "The Prime Minister of the country cannot personally handle trivial matters, but he must report to the provincial capital every three to five days to discuss major matters!"

The words sound nice, but there are not so many important matters in the court. Moreover, if there are important matters, it must be the emperor who makes the final decision. The prime minister's duty is to deal with trivial matters that the emperor cannot handle.

The inner intention is obvious, to show superiority on the outside but to actually seize power.

Liu Shu took the order and went, then rushed into Yang's house and read out the decree. He then mocked Yang Su in front of his servants and children, "The willows have sprouted new branches, can the solitary Yang still stand tall today?"

Yang Su stopped his sons who were about to rush forward to attack, and ordered people to escort Liu Shu out of the house. Liu Shu left with a big laugh.

.........

At this time, Li Jiancheng was leading a group of people to watch the excitement in the newly built Chanding Temple. This was a royal temple that the emperor ordered to be built for praying when the empress was ill.

The temple occupies half a block of land and has a seven-story wooden pagoda that is 330 feet high and 120 steps in circumference. The pagoda houses the tooth relic of Sakyamuni. Since its construction, people have come here to worship every day.

There was a flagpole in front of the tower. It was specially erected by His Majesty after the Queen's death to pray for her good fortune and longevity. It was more than ten feet high, towering straight into the clouds. The large flag on the top of the pole fluttered in the wind. It was originally very magnificent, but the wind was strong today. The Xiao family member next to Li Jiancheng reminded him, "It's about to break. Let's stay away from it."

The monks in the temple were in a panic. If anything happened to the flagpole that was used to accumulate merits for the Queen, it would be a big deal. If not handled properly, His Majesty might get angry.

Li Jiancheng looked up and felt that something was wrong. He led the others to walk a little further. The wooden pole had not broken under the protection of the monks, but the rope tied to the flag was blown off. The soul flag was blown away by the wind. The monks hurried to find it back. After much effort, they found it, but in this windy day, there was no way to hang it back. If they didn't hang it back immediately, they would be guilty. At the critical moment, a young man came out, carried the soul flag on his back, bit the rope in his mouth, walked to the towering wooden pole, and took a deep breath.

He scurried up like a nimble monkey, and climbed to the top of the pole amid the crowd's exclamations. He clamped his legs tightly around the pole, and with extremely beautiful techniques, he tied the flagpole firmly.

The young men behind Li Jiancheng were also amazed at his skills, so they shouted that they would buy him a drink and ask him how he learned his skills.

But the young man seemed to have gone limp, and he fell down from the pole with his arms outstretched, like a head-over-heels onion. Falling from such a height, he was doomed to death. Those who were originally watching the excitement all dispersed in a hurry.

Only a few older monks subconsciously wanted to catch it. They were people with bodhicitta.

But the young man seemed to have just woken up from dizziness. He adjusted his posture and used his hands and feet to stick to the wooden pole, using the pole to slow down his falling speed. When he was close to the ground, he pushed off with his feet, flew diagonally and supported himself with his hands. After rolling for more than ten or twenty times, he stood up gracefully like a carp.

Amid the crowd's continuous exclamations, he revealed a smug smile and bowed to all directions. It was obvious that he did it on purpose.

The onlookers clapped and cheered unconsciously, and some even took off their silver and money accessories and threw them at him.

But the young man let the valuables fall to the ground and did not pick them up. He just bowed to them happily.

The abbot of the temple came forward and bowed respectfully to thank him, saying that he would definitely give him a generous gift. However, the young man obviously respected the monks more. He put his hands together and returned the greeting, saying, "The Queen has made great contributions to the country. I am honored to have done my little bit of help. I am very satisfied and do not need any reward from the elder."

The abbot held his hand and asked his name before letting go. Everyone knew that the boy's name was Shen Guang. One of the Dou family's children raised an eyebrow and said to Li Jiancheng, "Jiancheng, I seem to have heard of his reputation. It is said that his horse racing skills are the best in the world."

Li Jiancheng was a little surprised: "He is only about ten years old, how can he be so capable?

The man thought to himself, you too.

Li Jiancheng came forward with interest. There were many people around the young man, but when they saw that the famous Li Langjun in the capital had come, they all made way consciously.

Although Li Jiancheng was young, ever since he became famous, his deeds were either related to the emperor and empress, or to the left and right ministers, the crown prince, and the princes. Not to mention the younger generation, even the officials in the court below the third or fourth rank were not qualified to be mentioned.

To see how well a person is doing, we should not only look at the people he is close to, but also the level of people he does not get along with.

According to rumors, those who were at odds with Li Langjun included the Emperor, Duke Yue, Duke Bao, and He Ruobi. As for Yu Wenzhi, he was no longer worthy of being in this group.

………………

(End of this chapter)