Chapter 76 Luoyang
"Your Highness, my condolences."

Gao Qiu, who came in from outside, advised softly: "The spirits of the late emperor and the queen are watching you in heaven."

Yang Zhao wiped his tears and stood up, asking with concern: "Mr. Gao? I heard that you were ill, and I specifically ordered people not to disturb you. Why did you still come?"

Gao Zuo stepped forward and held Yang Zhao's hand, saying, "I am fine, this old minister is just suffering from a minor illness. But Your Highness, you should pay attention to your health. You are the head of the nation, and you must not allow anything to happen to you."

He still believes that Yang Yong is the most suitable person to succeed the throne among the late emperor's sons, but if we talk about the late emperor's grandsons, the one in front of him is indeed the best.

This was also something that made him feel relatively relieved. The late emperor and he had accumulated a lot of wealth for the Sui Dynasty throughout their lives. As long as they could hold out until the crown prince ascended the throne, the prosperity of the Sui Dynasty could continue.

Li Jiancheng saluted Gao Qiu. Gao Qiu looked at Li Jiancheng and said, "I thought you were a flatterer, but I didn't expect you to speak out. I was wrong in the past and I should apologize to you."

"You're overly flattering."

Seeing that Gao Zuo probably had something he wanted to discuss with the prince in private, Li Jiancheng tactfully found an excuse and walked away.

Seeing that no one was around, Gao Zuo said to the prince, "It is the duty of the ministers to advise His Majesty. Your Highness just needs to concentrate on studying politics and must not offend His Majesty."

Yang Zhao sighed and said, "But my father is not willing to listen to the advice of the court officials. My mother and I have advised him privately, and it is of some use."

"As the crown prince, I cannot ignore the suffering of the people. Even if I am reprimanded by my father, as long as it can bring some benefit to the people, I will be happy to do so."

Gao Qiu didn't care about anything else: "Your Majesty doesn't have only one son. His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi is only one year younger than you.
Yang Zhao didn't like to hear such words, but facing Gao Zuo, whom he always respected, he could only frown and say: "If the emperor feels that Erlang is more worthy of the position of crown prince, I am not the kind of person who will not abandon him, so I should abdicate and let the wise man take over."

Gao Zuo looked helpless, as if he was back to the time when he tried to persuade Yang Yong. No matter how much he tried to persuade him, Yang Yong just refused to listen. The state affairs were difficult.

But he couldn't help but give advice, not to repay the late emperor's kindness, but because the present day of the Sui Dynasty was also the result of his hard work for more than ten years.

He had no choice but to unravel the intrigues and conspiracy involved and explain it to Yang Zhao bit by bit.

…………

After Li Jiancheng accompanied the prince in the worship, they returned to the capital together. They happened to arrive at a court meeting, where officials from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Civil Affairs were arguing over whether to continue sending troops to Linyi (central Vietnam).

It turned out that Liu Fang, the commander-in-chief of Guanzhou Road, was ordered to attack Linyi and had besieged its capital last month, forcing its leader to abandon the city and flee to the sea.

After Lin Fang successfully entered the city, he seized eighteen tablets of the country's temple, all of which were made of gold, in addition to many rare treasures accumulated in the capital. Liu Fang also carved a stone and erected a monument to commemorate his achievement.

After supporting a new king and accepting the Sui Dynasty as his overlord, he led his army back. However, on the way, many soldiers suffered from swollen feet due to unfamiliar climate and water. Four or five out of ten soldiers died of the illness, and the general Liu Fang also died on the way.

The king of Linyi returned to the capital after the Sui army left, raised an army, killed the new king, took back the throne, and killed all the remaining Sui officials.

The attack on Linyi was ordered by the late emperor last year when he was still alive. It was not because Linyi had committed any crime of disrespect, but the late emperor heard from his ministers that Linyi had many rare treasures, so the late emperor ordered Liu Fang to attack in order to plunder the treasures.

Now the hatred has become deep-rooted. The Minister of War feels that since this has come to this, he must raise an army to completely destroy Linyi in order to demonstrate the majesty of the Celestial Empire.

Officials from the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Rites believed that this was a war without any justification, so there was no point in continuing to fight about it, especially since there was no cure for the disease of acclimatization.

But who is the current emperor? He just sent the imperial censor Wei Jie and the deputy governor Du Xingman to the Western Regions a few days ago, and sent Pei Ju to Zhangye to contact the merchants in the Western Regions and persuade the Western Regions to come to the court. How could he allow a tiny country like Linyi to humiliate the Great Sui? As for how many soldiers died or were injured in order to maintain dignity, that was not his consideration at all.

He first affirmed Liu Fang's achievements and issued an edict saying, "Fang Su followed the emperor's strategy, respectfully carried out the punishment of heaven, drank ice and rushed forward, treated danger as if it were a flat land, smashed the front and went straight, took the enemy by surprise, killed all the whales and salamanders, destroyed all their nests, and no longer had to work hard. He cleared the overseas and devoted himself to the king's work. His sincere achievements are commendable, and he can be awarded the title of Shangzhuguo and Luguogong."

So he appointed another general to lead tens of thousands of infantry and cavalry to pacify Linyi and capture its leader. When the foreign vassal came to pay tribute the next year, he would execute him to warn other countries what the mighty power of heaven means.

Just as the court was about to leave, the emperor saw what Li Jiancheng was thinking and said, "Order the crown prince, Li Jiancheng, to inspect the Eastern Capital for me."

"I accept the decree."

Li Jiancheng, who had just returned to Beijing, had no choice but to go back home to pack his luggage, then led his family members straight to the Eastern Capital which was under construction.

Back then, the imperial court built Daxing City in just nine months. The Luoyang to be built this time was much smaller than Daxing City. In addition, the emperor's edict stated that there were no allowed to be carved walls or high buildings, and the palace must be humble and the food must be simple.

Logically speaking, it should have been almost completed by now, but when Li Jiancheng arrived, he found that it was basically finished, but the palace was obviously still being meticulously carved to build an extremely magnificent palace.

"Mr. Yang, it's been a long time since we last met."

Li Jiancheng saluted to Yang Su. The Shangshu Ling of the imperial court had two million laborers under his command. He was extremely thin and emaciated from exhaustion. It was obvious that he was exhausted both physically and mentally. After all, he was an old man with gray hair and beard.

"Your Majesty asked you to come, right? Come and take a look at this city."

What Li Jiancheng saw was an endless stream of people carrying things, working, falling down and getting up, the insults and whippings of officials and runners, and the dark clouds covering the new city and swallowing up the lives of the people.

The grandeur is nothing but the resentment of the people, and the glory is all blurred by blood.

Li Jiancheng did not speak. Yang Su smiled and said, "It faces Yique in the south, leans against Mangshan in the north, crosses the Shanghe River in the east, and has Luoshui running through it. Guoyan, Gongcheng, Huanghu, Dongcheng..."

"Mr. Yang, I saw many new graves on the road outside the city. They can't be called graves because they were just hastily buried. There were even dead bodies with their hands and feet exposed in the wild."

“How many people were killed or injured here?

Yang Su turned his head and looked at him and said, "I know, and your majesty knows too. You don't need to know."

"Jiancheng, you are still young. Don't think about being a loyal minister. Just be content to be your noble relative. In the future, you can inherit the title, take in more concubines, and have more children."

Li Jiancheng looked into the distance and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Mr. Yang, for your advice. Jiancheng understands."

Yang Su smiled and said, "Come on, I'll show you the Qianyang Palace. His Majesty will summon envoys from vassal states here next year. Then we'll go see the Forbidden Garden, and then you can go back and report back."

The streets in the city crisscross and vary in width, and are divided into numerous neighborhoods by the streets, forming a chessboard-like urban layout, which was obviously built according to Chang'an.

.........

(End of this chapter)