Jeune Premier ministre, un ermite - Chapitre 22
Wei Zijun then bowed to the young man and asked, "May I ask, young man, what is the current name of our country?"
"Where do you come from, young master? You don't even know the name of my great nation, Dayu!" The young man frowned, quite puzzled.
"Young master, you are unaware of my true nature. I have been living in seclusion in the mountains with my master, leading a life of ignorance. Only today have I emerged from the mountains, so I know very little about worldly affairs. I apologize for this. May I ask, young master, what was the name of the previous dynasty...?"
"Naturally, it's the Sui Dynasty!" the young man said impatiently.
"Sui!!!?? May I ask, young man, what about before that?" Wei Zijun temporarily ignored the man's glare that seemed to want to punch him.
"The Northern and Southern Dynasties!!!" The young man glared at her fiercely.
“Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties!!! Sui Dynasty! Dayu Dynasty! My God, what about the Tang Dynasty!?” Wei Zijun murmured blankly, suddenly grabbing the man's sleeve. “Young...young man, this is the Tang Dynasty, right? Right? Or is it the end of the Sui Dynasty!? Huh? Is that so?”
The young man frowned, pulled off his sleeve, took a step back, glared at Wei Zijun, and turned to go into the shop. He hated pretty boys more than anything, and this man was not only a pretty boy, but also a madman.
Wei Zijun stood blankly at the doorway, unaware that someone had bumped into her as they came out. Da Yu!? What about Tang? Was history wrong? Who covered up history? Or who rewrote history? Who destroyed the Sui Dynasty?
Wei Zijun frantically pounded her head, trying to knock something out.
After tapping away for a while, it wasn't in vain; she finally produced a song about dynasties. Then she tapped out a tree of historical knowledge, laden with fruit, recording the development of each dynasty, and glimpses of historical figures and events flooding her mind. Having never seriously considered history, she attributed this flourishing history tree to her photographic memory. Otherwise, even if she smashed her own head, all that would be left would be an empty shell.
However, this history tree also ruthlessly reveals that she has returned to a lost and unrecorded history!
Shock! Astonishment! Curiosity! Even a sense of relief! All these feelings rushed to her mind. If nothing unexpected happened, she would be the first, or perhaps only, witness to this covered-up history.
I really don't know whether this is a blessing or a curse.
Filled with endless questions and facing the astonished gazes of passersby, Wei Zijun walked back with her forehead bright red.
After asking questions along the way, I finally got a general understanding of the current situation.
At the end of the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Yang Guang was licentious, suspicious, and bloodthirsty, leading to uprisings across the country. Seeing the political turmoil and Yang Guang's inability to protect himself, Li Luan, the Duke of Yu, launched a rebellion in the thirteenth year of the Daye era. He allied with the Western Turks and seized vast territories stretching from the South China Sea to Liaodong in the north, establishing his capital at Daxing City in Jingzhao Prefecture, naming his state Yu, and adopting the reign title Daxian. He also ceded parts of the northwest to the Western Turks. Meanwhile, the southern barbarians and other tribes north of Liaodong also carved out their own territories, creating a multi-state fragmentation. In the south, the Cuanwan ruled Dian; in the north, the Eastern and Western Turks, Mohe, Khitan, and Goryeo existed; in the west, the Supi Kingdom was controlled by the Tibetan Empire; and in the east, Yancheng County was ruled by the Wei family.
This year is also the fourth year of the Tai Ning era, the second reign title after twenty years of the Great Xian dynasty.
It seems that Li Luan was quite capable to reign for twenty-four years, but his shortcoming was failing to unify the country. Moreover, it's said that Li Luan was quite lecherous. Though a wise ruler, he was not a truly great one. Perhaps it was his indulgence in women that extinguished his ambition. Now that he is advanced in years, he has no desire to expand his territory. While he may wish to preserve himself, he cannot stop others from coveting his vast lands.
Wei Zijun's city, Lucheng, is located in Wu County, which is part of the Three Wu regions. This area is rich in rice, has a prosperous economy, and fertile land. It is also connected to Chang'an by the Grand Canal. Therefore, every year, a large amount of grain, iron pots, and tea are transported from here via the canal, while valuable items such as sable fur and ginseng are transported back.
This rebellion of the King of Chu mainly occurred in the Yellow River basin. The war left large swathes of this fertile land barren, with displaced people migrating and the wasteland left uncultivated. Supplying the army suppressing the rebellion became a major problem. While the rebel forces on the frontier had been driven out, they remained a constant threat, so the large garrison there also consumed significant amounts of provisions. Therefore, procuring supplies from the nearby Wu region (Sanwu), which was less affected by the war and connected by canals, became an urgent priority.
Faced with this complex situation, Wei Zijun had a general idea of what was going on and forced herself to accept it. Based on the current situation, she analyzed the general picture of the political landscape. As for Qiu Zaifang's control of the grain supplies, it was obvious, and her overly clever mind easily guessed it with a high degree of accuracy.
She reasoned that Pei Zaifang's hoarding of grain at this time was unlikely to be for profit, as the court was offering prices even higher than usual due to the urgent need. Excluding profit, only two possibilities remained: one, he wanted to use the grain to weaken the suppression army, creating an opportunity for the rebels to rise again, while simultaneously supplying them with provisions. If this was the case, Pei Zaifang must be colluding with the rebels. The second possibility was deliberate hoarding of grain; in such a critical moment, hoarding grain must be for the purpose of plotting a rebellion. In this situation of multiple kingdoms vying for power, who with ambition wouldn't want to carve out their own territory and become a king? If either of these possibilities held true, then the phenomenon of large-scale grain hoarding must not be limited to Lucheng.
Having made a preliminary plan in mind, she quickened her pace and nearly bumped into a young man when she reached Danhe Tower. Wei Zijun tried to dodge away, but the young man grabbed her arm.
“Brother? It’s you!” The young man looked at Wei Zijun. “Where have you been? I haven’t been able to find you.”
Wei Zijun looked closely and realized it was the same young man who had given her the jade pendant last time. However, the young man's face was spotless, and he was remarkably handsome. Even his worn-out short shirt was clean, which was why she hadn't recognized him. She was even more surprised that the young man spoke with such good manners.
Wei Zijun felt guilty. When she left that day, she had intended to ask Liu Lang to take care of him, but she didn't have a chance to say a word to him throughout the whole process. She wondered if he had eaten and dressed warmly these days.
“I no longer work at Danhe Tower. If you need to find me in the future, go to Guanyu Pavilion on the next street.” She reached out and patted the boy’s head.
"Wasn't that area sealed off?" the boy asked, looking up at her with some confusion.
“I’ve taken over that place and I’m going to open a restaurant there. If you have nowhere to go, go there.”
"Really!?" The boy's eyes widened as he stared excitedly at Wei Zijun.
"Really!" Wei Zijun nodded, then suddenly remembered something, "Oh right, here's your jade pendant back."
Just as he was about to reach for the jade pendant, the young man grabbed his hand tightly. "Brother, that's for you. I like it, so I'm giving it to you. You can't take it back."
"Where did that jade pendant come from? Was it stolen? If it was stolen, tell me the truth, and I won't blame you."
"That wasn't stolen!" the boy cried, on the verge of tears. "It belongs to my family, to my parents, to my family..."
His? How could this beggar-like boy have such valuable things? Could there be some hidden story?
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Note: ① Daxing City. Located southeast of Chang'an City during the Han Dynasty, now within Xi'an City.
[Volume 1, Deer City Chapter: Chapter 20 Birthday (Part 1)]
On the way to the general's mansion, Wei Zijun kept thinking about the events of the past two days.
After hearing Duan Xin's hidden story the day before yesterday afternoon, she made a decision in her heart: this time, she would not only help Li Tianqi, but also help Duan Xin get revenge.
It turns out that the young man who gave Wei Zijun the jade pendant was named Duan Xin, and his father was Duan Shiju, a well-known wealthy man in Lucheng. Duan Shiju was a kind-hearted man who often helped the poor and never caused trouble. Unexpectedly, he got into trouble for no reason. Moreover, this matter was actually related to Qiu Zaifang, the manager of Danhelou.
Pei Zaifang had a passion for collecting rare and precious antiques, which he cherished dearly. Upon learning that Duan Shiju possessed an ancestral jade pendant, its surface a vibrant green, said to be able to neutralize all poisons, keeping one warm in winter and cool in summer, and warding off evil and bringing good fortune—a truly divine object—he couldn't help but yearn for it. He made a special trip to the Duan residence to see it for himself. Unexpectedly, after seeing the treasure, he was captivated, exclaiming that it was a matter of fate, and immediately felt a strong desire to possess it. He then asked Duan Shiju to buy the jade. But Duan Shiju would never agree, for it was an ancestral heirloom, and he had almost never fallen ill while wearing it. Naturally, he refused Pei Zaifang's request.
Later, Pei Zaifang repeatedly offered to buy the jade, either in person or by sending someone, but was refused each time. Unexpectedly, this supposedly auspicious treasure brought immense disaster to the Duan family.
Just last year, a massive fire completely destroyed the Duan residence at night. Duan Shiju was suffocated by the smoke and flames on his bed. Madam Duan risked her life to retrieve a jade pendant from a silver box and used it to protect Duan Xin as they escaped. Duan Xin hadn't expected the pendant to be able to ward off fire; they rushed out, dodging the flames. Just when they thought they had escaped, a burning wooden sleeper fell down at the doorway. Madam Duan instinctively pushed Duan Xin aside, sacrificing herself to join Duan Shiju in the inferno.
"Mother—" Duan Xin rushed towards the fire, but his mother only left him with one sentence before she passed away.
Duan Xin, who had escaped, clutched the jade pendant his mother had given him, tears streaming down his face. He remembered his mother's last words: "Xin'er, when you meet someone of noble birth you like... give them the jade pendant... we... cannot afford it. Remember... only someone of great wealth and status... otherwise... you'll only harm them..."
Poor Duan Xin, he lost his parents at the tender age of twelve. He trembled and slumped down under the tree, watching the raging fire until the mansion turned to ashes.
The burned-down Duan residence was desolate. The numb Duan Xin thought of collecting his parents' bodies, but then he heard people approaching from the darkness. One of them said, "With so much ashes, how can we find them?" The other said, "Master Qiu said they were in a silver box about a foot square. Of course we can find them."
At this point, Duan Xin finally knew who his enemy was. From then on, he would go to Danhe Tower whenever he had free time, thinking about taking revenge and also picking up leftovers to fill his stomach.