Looking at the mountains and rivers

In the summer of the eighth year of Yong'an, Tuoba Xin passed away.

However, the situation in the northwest was not as turbulent as previously expected. The guards of Donghu, headed by Dugulie and Yu Chixian, obeyed Tuobaxin's last order and regarded his grandson Mu Wang Yangyan as the new Tuoba Patriarch.Although the rest of the Donghu nobles were quite critical, they didn't dare to act rashly, and finally left Liangzhou and went back to the feudal towns.

In the autumn of the same year, King Mu's car returned to Jian'an. At the same time, Wei Changxuan, the general who had defeated Yanyu in the Battle of Panmenguan, returned to Beijing at the same time.On the day they returned, Emperor Yong'an not only sent civil and military officials out of the city to greet them, but also greeted them with an imperial chariot. This kind of kindness is unique since the founding of the Dazhao Dynasty.

On both sides of the imperial chariot are left and right Jinwu guards holding high dragon flags, and in front of them are a group of courtiers leading the way. There are also twelve large banners rising from the sky. The young man in the imperial chariot looked up at the The big banner fluttering in the air was full of admiration and said: "This scene is really grand!"

Tang An on the side smiled and said: "Master Altai, this is the emperor's ceremonial ceremony, so the ostentation is naturally great." He didn't dare to sit in this majestic chariot, so he half squatted and half knelt on the ground, and whispered to Yang Yan , "Speaking of which, isn't it too much for the emperor to give such a courtesy to the master?"

"His courtesy is not for welcoming me, but for the Donghu military power in my hand." Yang Yan, who was sitting in the middle of the chariot, lowered his eyelids slightly, turning a deaf ear to the cheers of the mountains and tsunami outside, and smiled slightly, " I killed his favorite minister earlier, and with his temperament, he must have been suspicious of me. But now that I come back with the Tuoba Patriarch's order, he has nothing to do with me, so he has to let go of his suspicion and win me over. I guess this The emperor's guard of honor is just one of them, and there may be some small favors to be given to me in the future."

Tang An lowered his head: "Master sees clearly."

Dugu Hong on the side didn't care about their conversation at all, he looked around curiously, vaguely saw the figure of the young general behind the guard of honor, and said strangely: "Uncle, it's so rare to be able to ride in the emperor's cart, why doesn't General Wei Come up and sit down?"

Yang Yan snorted softly: "Although this big car is luxurious, it's not comfortable to sit on. Wei Changxuan won't like it." Yes, I would like to get out of the car and ride with Wei Changxuan."

This luxurious chariot drove all the way to the Xuanzheng Hall of Tai'an Palace. Under the long steps of the hall, the important officials dressed in red and purple robes stood on both sides, holding their voices and breathing quietly.After the imperial chariot stopped under the palace steps, a blue-gray figure rode straight through the huge guard of honor. The general in heavy armor got off his horse and walked up the palace steps with King Mu.

Although most of the people present were beaming, there were some exceptions.The few old husbands standing on the top looked at the two young men who climbed the long steps from a distance, with a bit of hesitation on their faces.In their eyes, the emperor's etiquette for welcoming these two people was too grand, and it was a bit motivating.However, they didn't try to dissuade them. After all, one of these two young people has eliminated foreign troubles and the other has settled internal troubles. They are both in the limelight right now, and neither of them wants to make it boring.

Dugu Hong has no official position and is not allowed to enter the palace, so he can only stand at the bottom of the steps with Tang An.He looked up and watched the two men walk up the hall quickly, their clothes fluttered in the autumn wind, just like a giant bird spreading its wings and passing by the long steps.

"Looking at Uncle and General Wei like this," the young man looked enviously at the receding figure, "it's really impressive."

Tang An stood behind him and sighed softly: "It's very majestic, but this prestige is hard-won." After he sighed, he smiled softly, "Maybe in the future, Master Altai will also have a chance to impress all officials. Get out of the way and step up the jade steps of the Xuanzheng Hall alone."

Dugu Hong obviously didn't have such a scene as Xiao imagined, he scratched his head: "This... is not likely."

Seeing the ministers and workers entering the hall one after another, Dugu Hong stretched his neck curiously: "These people are all crowded into the hall, are they going to hold a court meeting?"

"This is a grand ceremony of rewards. Last year's Panmenguan battle was a complete victory. Most of the generals who returned to the court received awards and awards. Only General Wei was unable to return to Beijing due to his serious injuries. I heard that the emperor has drawn up a decree to promote him. He is General Huaihua, and today he will proclaim an imperial edict in front of the palace."

Dugu Hong nodded, and asked again: "Then what about uncle, will he be rewarded too?"

Tang An froze for a moment, then quickly laughed again: "Master has stabilized the Donghu situation with one hand, of course it is considered a great achievement, the emperor will definitely reward him, but... probably won't be promoted again," he said with a smile Somewhat helpless, "The master is originally Mu Wang, who was granted the post of Sikong earlier, and concurrently served as the Northwest Governor. Even if the emperor intends to add the title, I am afraid that he will not have a higher official position."

At this moment in the main hall, the edict had been announced, Wei Changxuan thanked him and retreated first, but he was surrounded by congratulatory crowd as soon as he left the hall gate.Most of the people who gathered around were former members of Habayashi Guard, as well as old acquaintances such as Yuan Xiaohou. The congratulations from the crowd kept coming and going, which made him almost have a headache.When he was struggling to deal with it, the door of the palace behind him rang again, and all the generals with rough voices fell silent at the same time, only Yuan Xiong didn't realize it, and still said loudly: "General Wei's host is decided tonight, If Yueming Tower gets tired of it, let's go to Hehuan Tower, in short, we must get drunk!"

Before he could finish his sentence, he only heard a voice behind him whisper: "Everyone is so excited."

Yuan Xiong was stunned, and when he turned around, his face suddenly changed: "Mu...His Royal Highness King Mu."

Seeing that Yang Yan's face was as cold as ice, he raised his eyes indifferently, but he didn't seem to care about Yuan Xiong at all, he just looked in Wei Changxuan's direction: "General Huaihua, congratulations."

Wei Changxuan seemed to be about to laugh, but he held it back and cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Your Highness Mu Wang."

Seeing the politeness of the two of them, the people on the side also backed away calmly. They had heard about the actions of His Highness King Mu, and they didn't even dare to show their anger in front of him, let alone like before. Talking and laughing loudly like that.

Fortunately, Wei Changxuan turned his head in time and said to them: "I have a few words with His Highness, everyone, wait outside the palace gate."

As soon as these words came out, the crowd immediately scattered and retreated without staying any longer, leaving only the two of them outside the hall.

"General Huaihua, do you have something to tell me?" Yang Yan raised his eyebrows, pretending to be surprised.

Wei Changxuan gritted his teeth quietly, and leaned closer to his ear: "Yexi, if you put on a show again, I won't let you go lightly when you go back at night."

Sure enough, Yang Yan couldn't hold back any longer, and laughed out loud.

Wei Changxuan also laughed: "Now that the grand ceremony is over, I have to go to the Yulin camp. How about you, do you want to go back home by car?"

Yang Yan shook his head lightly: "The person in front of the imperial court sent a message just now, saying that the emperor wants to keep me for dinner. I'm afraid I won't be able to leave the palace for a while."

"He specially kept you for dinner, what's the matter?"

"Probably not a bad thing." Yang Yan shook his head indifferently, "It just so happens that there is another matter, and I have to report it to him."

Wei Changxuan knew that he now holds several positions and has a lot of government affairs, so he didn't ask too much, just nodded: "Then I'll take a step first, you just heard that Yuan Xiaohou asked me to buy them a drink, tonight I'm afraid I can't escape."

"Yes, you must get drunk tonight." Yang Yan smiled lightly.

Wei Changxuan smiled, turned around and was about to leave, but suddenly felt that the sleeves of his robe tightened, but was grabbed by Yang Yan.Wei Changxuan was taken aback for a moment, but Yang Yan's face was as usual, pursing his lips with a half-smile.He immediately understood, turned around, and said in a low voice: "In the evening, I will go to the palace to find you."

Only then did Yang Yan let go of his hand in satisfaction. Hearing the sound of Wei Changxuan's footsteps going away briskly along the jade steps, he chuckled to himself.

"Tang Changshi," Dugu Hong looked at this scene from a distance, and said with some doubts, "Do you feel that there is something unusual between Uncle and General Wei?"

Tang An's complexion changed slightly, and he soon squeezed out a smile: "What did Young Master Altai say? Master and General Wei have known each other since childhood, and they have a very close friendship. Even if they are closer than others, there is nothing wrong with it."

"I just think," Dugu Hong looked straight ahead, and saw the brilliance of the setting sun shining in front of the hall, coating the corners of Yang Yan's raised lips with a layer of golden red warmth, "although uncle always smiles, but His smile is always cold and distant, high above, making it difficult for people to get close to him. Only in front of General Wei can he smile so happily, not at all like King Mu, but more like a child."

Normally, Emperor Yong'an seldom invited people to eat unless it was a palace banquet, but this time he invited King Mu alone. If it were someone else, he would have already felt extremely honored and favored, but King Mu never showed a look of being flattered from the beginning to the end.When the palace people withdrew the leftovers and opened the door of the palace again, the autumn wind mixed with the sweet fragrance of osmanthus swept into the Hanchen Palace.

"King Mu, is this trip to the northwest going smoothly?" Emperor Yong'an Yang Jie casually asked as he brushed his teacup.

"Thanks to the great blessing of the emperor, there is not much twists and turns," Yang Yan said in a low voice, "It's just that Duke Tuoba passed away, Donghu's heart is uneasy, and a little comfort is needed."

"It's natural," Yang Jie nodded, "In your opinion, how can I appease you?"

"In recent years, the chief guards of Donghu have become more and more domineering. They support their own self-respect and refuse to be dispatched by the military department. Although my younger brother was lucky enough to get the Patriarch's order passed down by his grandfather, he is not very sure that he can command these chief guards. Yichen In my humble opinion, if you want to gain some control over Donghu, you can't just keep alienating and indifferent like before, maybe you should do the opposite."

"Oh?"

"Promote powerful people from the Donghu tribe and transfer them to Jian'an, preferably as important positions in the military department. In this way, the emperor will not only shorten the relationship with Donghu, but also worry that the military department will not be able to dispatch the Donghu army in the future."

"This...do you really want Donghu people to be in charge of the Ministry of War?" Emperor Yong'an hesitated.

"I know that the emperor has scruples in his heart, but when these Donghu nobles move their families to Jian'an, their wealth and life will be in the hands of the emperor. Even if they are in high positions, they have to obey the emperor's orders. Now that I will accept the orders of the emperor abroad, wouldn’t I benefit a lot.”

When Yang Jie heard it, he couldn't help being enlightened, nodded and said: "King Mu is right, so let's do it this way." He had a hint of approval, "You are safe, and it is very different from your brothers. I will leave the affairs of the Northwest to you. It is extremely reassuring. This time the chaos in Donghu disappeared without a trace, it is all thanks to you. I have the intention to reward you, but I don’t know what to reward. Fortunately, someone reminded me that when the first emperor uncle was around, he would guard the left and right. It is well organized, and now, I have the heart to hand over this guard to you again, what do you think?"

Emperor Yong'an originally thought that Yang Yan would be overjoyed when he said this, and knelt down to thank him.Unexpectedly, he was not very happy, he just left his seat to salute, and said lightly: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Yang Jie suddenly felt that he couldn't see through the depth of this cousin. He unconsciously sat upright in the dragon chair and looked at Yang Yan vigilantly, but only touched a piece of emptiness in the other's eyes.

Just when the emperor was hesitating, Yang Yan lowered his head with a chuckle, and regained his usual modest expression: "My brother has one more matter, and I want to ask the emperor to decide."

"what's up?"

"Since the death of my grandfather, the emperor bestowed the posthumous title of Wude, and ordered people to write his achievements in this life into an inscription for the admiration of future generations. This is really a great kindness of the emperor, and I am grateful to my younger brother." Yang Yan After a short pause, he continued, "It's just that it's good to be remembered for the contributions made by my grandfather, but do I need to make up for the mistakes he made?"

"you mean?"

"Back then, my grandfather was sent to the two counties of Yan and Yu. As the master of Donghu, he was inconvenient to be punished. This crime fell on the head of Cui Yan, the captain of Ganzhou City Guard, which caused Cui Xiaowei's family to be copied Cut. The emperor should be clear about this matter."

Emperor Yong'an frowned slightly, he only vaguely remembered that Tuoba Xin had intended to rebel, and then discussed with King Mu to take the blame, all these things were carried out with the acquiescence of the late Emperor Xiaozong.As for the scapegoat's surname Cui Wang, he didn't remember it at all, so he just nodded vaguely at the moment.

"Previously, my grandfather was alive, so it was not easy to bring up this matter. Now that he is dead, I think I should ask the emperor to issue an edict to vindicate Cui Xiaowei. In this way, it will appear that the court rewards and punishes properly, and makes people in the world I know that the emperor is a wise king who never forgets his loyalty."

To rehabilitate a wronged school lieutenant, to Emperor Yong'an, he waved his hand casually: "Since that's the case, I will issue an edict in another day, to rehabilitate him."

Yang Yan finally showed a bit of joy, he took a step back, and thanked him with a big salute: "The emperor is holy."

When they came out of the Hanchen Palace, the sky was already dark, and the palace people led the way ahead with their lamps. Tang An supported Yang Yan and walked slowly along the corridor, while Dugu Hong followed them, watching the deep palace night boredly .

Suddenly, a few hurried footsteps came through the shadows of the trees. Dugu Hong immediately touched the sword at his waist vigilantly, but suddenly remembered that the long sword had been handed over when he entered the palace, and now he was completely unarmed.

A small black shadow quickly emerged from the bushes, and hit Yang Yan accurately, and then heard a low "Ouch", but it was not from Yang Yan, but from the little figure beside his leg exhaling in pain. Voice.

Yang Yan was bumped, and instinctively reached out to touch, but touched a wet little face.He was startled, as if to make sure, he pinched that cheek again, only to feel the softness and warmth in his hand, as if pinching a freshly baked meat bun.