Chinese New Year

Chapter 585 Persuasion

There is no court meeting today.

At lunch time, the palace servants brought food to the emperor.

Sima Chi didn't care at first. After taking a casual glance, his eyes suddenly widened.

Where's the white porridge? I said I wanted to eat white porridge today, why is it not there?

Where's the wine? Not even a bottle?

Where's the meat? Where's the cheese?

Sima Chi suddenly became angry and shouted, "Where is the eunuch? Where is the eunuch? Call the eunuch here quickly."

Taiguan was a subordinate official of Guanglu Xun, in charge of food in the palace.

The palace maid left in a hurry, but did not go to find the eunuch, but went to find the queen first.

A moment later, Queen Liang Lanbi arrived with the eunuchs and their subordinates.

"Your Majesty, don't blame me!" The eunuch cried out as soon as he arrived: "The Shaofu didn't send rice and wine, and I can't do anything about it."

Sima Chi was stunned and asked, "I just had white porridge seven days ago, how come it's gone?"

The eunuch glanced at him and said cautiously, "The Shaofu did have rice in the past, but it was presented by Lord Chen. Last year, 2,000 hu of rice was presented, and it has been eaten up. This year's new rice has not yet been harvested..."

Sima Chi did not give up and asked, "Nothing left at all?"

"Originally there were still several hundred bushels, but Your Majesty rewarded all your ministers a few days ago, and now there is not a single grain left," said the eunuch.

"Let the Shaofu go and ask for it!" Sima Chi was furious.

The eunuch looked at Empress Liang with an embarrassed expression.

Liang Lanbi wanted to go forward to comfort him, but her heart trembled. She didn't dare to approach the emperor, so she could only say: "Your Majesty, the rice eaten in the palace used to be offered by Xincheng and Luhun counties. However, after the drought a few years ago, the two counties stopped offering rice. In the past two years, we have been eating Guangcheng rice, which has been offered by Lord Chen."

"Did you ask Shao Xun for it?" Sima Chi was stunned and asked subconsciously.

Liang Lanbi quickly shook her head and said, "Madam Yu and I are close friends. Your Majesty is working hard at his desk. I see it with my own eyes and feel anxious in my heart. I can only--"

"Shut up!" Sima Chi reacted and became even more angry. An unnatural flush appeared on his face. He asked, "Have you been bribed by Shao Xun? Do you think I have lost power? No wonder! No wonder!"

Sima Chi stood up suddenly, like a trapped beast, walking around in the hall, sneering: "No wonder Liang Fen gave up Nanyang so easily. I thought he had few soldiers and generals and was unable to resist, so he had to give up Nanyang. I didn't expect it, I didn't expect it, haha! Do you think that I, the Sima family, am not virtuous and can't wait to change a new master?"

Liang Lanbi's face turned gloomy and full of pain, and she couldn't help wiping away her tears.

She was the queen, but she was also a wife and only wanted to do what she could for her husband. However, she had been insulted for many years - to be honest, her father Liang Fen also had to take the blame in this matter.

The eunuch was also dumbfounded.

There are still people who do that to themselves in this world...

As a close minister, his loyalty to the emperor was just that. The last eunuch disappeared without a trace because the previous emperor ate poisoned cakes, and no one knew whether he was alive or dead. Since then, he has learned a lot.

Since Jia Nanfeng, the person with the most influence in Luoyang City has never been the emperor.

"Are you all silent?" The emperor was still spinning in anger, saying, "What's the point of me keeping you?"

"There's no wine either. Should we ask Shao Xun for some too? If this continues, how can I save my dignity?"

"Waste, all of you are waste! I don't want to see you!"

There was a sound of hurried footsteps outside, and a moment later, Shaofu Liu Qiao hurried over.

"Your Majesty, I am guilty of death." As soon as he came in, Liu Qiao prostrated himself on the ground.

Sima Chi felt disgusted when he saw him like that.

He had high hopes for Liu Qiao before!
When he was young, he was appreciated by Wang Rong (Wang Yan's cousin) and was ordered to join others in attacking Wuchang of Wu State. After several months of siege, he captured the city. After returning, he was rewarded as the magistrate of Xingyang County.

Twenty-four years ago, he participated in the action to kill Yang Jun and was granted the title of Guanzhong Hou.

Fifteen years ago, he participated in the execution of Jia Nanfeng's party and was promoted to Palace Attendant.

Twelve years ago, he was appointed General Weiyuan and Governor of Yuzhou. He went south to quell Zhang Chang's rebellion and was promoted to General Zuo.

After the Battle of Dangyin, Sima Yue fled to Xuzhou, gathered tens of thousands of troops and intended to return to Luoyang, but was blocked by Liu Qiao and suffered a great defeat.

At that time, he was a loyal minister known throughout the world.

Unfortunately, he was soon attacked by Shao Xun who had traveled hundreds of miles and was knocked unconscious by a stick. After losing his spirit, Wang Yan took over and became the military advisor - at that time, Wang Yan was the military commander of Sima Yue.

After Sima Yue died, many people left the government. Liu Qiao did not leave immediately. After working for a while, he finally entered the court and cried bitterly in front of him. Finally, he won his trust and was promoted all the way to the position of Shaofu.

I didn't expect that he is also an incompetent person!
Sima Chi even doubted whether he was Wang Yan's man. After all, he got the opportunity because of the appreciation and promotion of Wang Yan's cousin Wang Rong.

As for Wang Yan, Sima Chi felt sad. There were few people in the court who could be trusted. "Your Majesty." Liu Qiao raised his head, wiped his tears, and said, "I am not doing my job well. The Minister of Agriculture has not sent any grain for several months, and the treasury of the Ministry of Finance is already very empty. In a few days, let alone white porridge, we won't be able to eat bean porridge."

According to the regulations, the Minister of Agriculture was in charge of the Taicang granary and regularly allocated grain, oil, fruits, vegetables, meat, milk and other agricultural products to the government for the palace's expenses.

As the emperor's chief steward, Shaofu received agricultural products, silks, and local tributes, and also made and stored various utensils himself.

The eunuchs under the Guanglu Xun were responsible for cooking for the emperor, but the raw materials had to be supplied by the Shaofu.

Liu Qiao said that the Shaofu’s inventory had been exhausted, so that must be a problem with the Dongyang Gate Taicang. Could it be that the granary was empty?
Thinking of this, Sima Chi, who was feeling disheartened, suddenly lost his composure and asked in a lost voice, "Is the Taicang empty?"

"I heard it's almost empty." Liu Qiao replied: "Xuzhou is still at war, and only Shouchun is transporting grain to the capital. The income is not enough to cover the expenditure."

"Where is Shao Xun?" Sima Chi asked, "Why don't you ask Shao Xun for food?"

After saying this, he felt something was wrong and subconsciously glanced at Queen Liang.

The queen's eyes were red and swollen, and her gaze was dull. No one knew what she was thinking.

Sima Chi quickly turned his head away and became angry again: "How come everything was fine before, but as soon as Shao Xun entered the capital, we ran out of food immediately? What happened?"

"I don't know why." Liu Qiao said, "Maybe the imperial army is going to go to war, and Pei Kuo, the lieutenant of the Northern Army, ordered to reward the soldiers with food and rice. There wasn't much to begin with, and it was quickly used up after this reward. I heard that the Minister of Finance Wang Xuan is making up for the overdue rice salaries of the officials..."

"These are all my food, how dare they!" Sima Chi almost jumped up.

Liu Qiao and Taiguan looked at each other.

How can we drive soldiers to fight without rewards? Without fighting, Luoyang will never have peace.

If you don't pay the officials, who will serve you? How can a person be the emperor without the support of the ministers?
Queen Liang Lanbi also came to her senses and looked at Sima Chi worriedly.

Now is not the time to act on impulse. If it really doesn't work, she will ask Yu Wenjun for help. But then she thought that this might make the emperor's self-esteem unbearable, and then he would speak coldly to her or even beat her, and she was a little afraid.

"Your Majesty." Before the Shaofu Liu Qiao could speak, the eunuch said tremblingly, "Mr. Chen is in the west of the city. The military rations are piled up like a mountain. Maybe we can ask him to move some of them to the Taicang of Dongyang Gate."

"I..." Sima Chi was about to refuse when he heard it, but soon his stomach started to growl.

He suddenly realized that he was so busy being angry that he hadn’t even eaten yet!
He caught a glimpse of the Hu pancake on the table. Although it was not sprinkled with sesame seeds and although he had found it unappetizing before, he now discovered that it seemed quite fragrant.

The eunuch lowered his head and complained inwardly: "I, I, I, chicken and dog I! I don't even have food to eat, and I am still here."

Liu Qiao took the opportunity to stand up and consoled him: "Your Majesty, perhaps you can order Lord Chen to distribute military rations and provide relief - er, I am guilty of death, I said the wrong thing."

It would have been better if he didn't remind him, because once he did, Sima Chi became even more embarrassed and angry.

Relief? Do you want to give me relief?
But after all, the situation was stronger than the person. His expression changed for a long time, and he took a deep breath and asked, "Is Shao Xun so obedient?"

"Your Majesty." Liu Qiao lowered his head and said in a pleasing manner, "Shao Xun was born in a military household, a lowly slave, crude and uneducated. If you deceive such a person a little, he will not know east, west, south, or north. Your Majesty is wise and wise, and if you approve his request, I will risk my old face and beg him hard, and I will definitely be able to raise food and return."

Sima Chi looked at Liu Qiao suspiciously and said, "Mr. Liu, are you following Shao Xun's orders..."

"Your Majesty, this is unjust!" Liu Qiao shouted, "My son You was once killed by Shao Xun in Pei State. For ten years, I have been thinking about revenge all the time. How could I be used by him?"

At the end of the speech, faint sobbing sounds were heard.

Sima Chi was somewhat moved.

The imperial official looked at Liu Qiao stupidly and sighed that this might be the gap between them.

Shao Xun attacked and killed Liu You, but that was also on Sima Yue's orders, and the culprit was still the King of Donghai. But didn't Liu Qiao later become Sima Yue's military advisor? Although he had an extra fig leaf and served as Wang Yan's deputy, he still worked for Sima Yue after all.

Does he really care about his dead son?
As far as he knew, Liu Qiao's second son Liu Ting was currently working under Si Lekai of the Mianbei Shogunate Army - Liu Qiao was born into the Liu family of Anzhong (where Cao Cao defeated Zhang Xiu, now incorporated into Wan County), a Nanyang aristocratic family.

I have learned something, I have really learned something, that officials cannot have shamelessness.

"What request did Shao Xun make?" Sima Chi asked after a long time.

"Shao Xun requested that Pei Kuo, the general of the Northern Army, be appointed as the commander and let him select the generals to attack Wang Mi of Hongnong," Liu Qiao said.

Sima Chi was silent for a while, then said, "Approve this request."

"Shao Xun also invites Your Majesty to go out of the city to reward the troops and boost morale." Liu Qiao said again.

Sima Chi's face flashed with blue, and he looked a little unhappy.

Liang Lanbi looked at her husband again with concern. In her opinion, since he had already agreed to the first thing, why should he hesitate about the second thing?

"Your Majesty." Liu Qiao wiped his tears and advised, "The soldiers are ignorant, but very loyal. If Your Majesty comes to the parade ground in person and lets the soldiers see the emperor, it may win the hearts of the soldiers and be beneficial to the great cause of revival."

Sima Chi's expression changed again.

Yes, he still has a righteous cause. If he can get the soldiers to cheer loudly when they see him, the military's hearts will be easily won, which will be much more effective than him secretly trying to win over the officers of the imperial guards.

Shao Xun is a minister, and I am the king. He and his soldiers must bow before me!

(End of this chapter)