Chapter 629: Time flies, things change with each passing day [Epilogue 5]

Things change over the years.

Spring passes and autumn comes.

Ming, the Han dynasty that ended the rule of the Yuan Dynasty and reshaped the country.

In the long river of time, it flows quietly and begins to move towards an unknown direction.

It was enclosed in Changping Academy and named Shuyuanshan by Emperor Sejong.

Today, thanks to the tree planting by several generations of students, the mountain is lush and green with dense forests.

There are peach blossoms in the mountains in spring and winter plum blossoms in full bloom.

The ancient pine trees are hidden in the steep places, standing proudly in a corner.

Time is always the most difficult thing for people to grasp.

In the long river of time, the changes of time will passively appear unnoticeable.

But it was placed in the early Wanli period.

This change will be infinitely magnified.

woo woo woo...

distance.

In the green shade at the foot of the mountain, the wailing sound of a whistle was heard.

On top of the mountain.

A young man of about fifteen or sixteen had just climbed up from the bottom of the mountain and was standing outside the viewing pavilion on the top of the mountain.

"Father."

"Grandpa Huang passed away this morning. Someone has been sent to the palace to pass on the news. Mother is leading people to prepare for the funeral."

The young man looked up at his father who was sitting in the pavilion drinking tea, then silently looked back at the mountain below.

Under the pavilion.

Yan Shaoting was suddenly in a trance for a moment. After raising his head, he looked at Xu Wei with some uncertainty. He had climbed the mountain with him early to watch the sunrise and drink tea with him.

The latter also showed a somewhat sad expression, and then nodded.

"How many people can die of old age? This is the blessing that Eunuch Huang has earned."

Xu Wei said this and then lowered his head to drink his tea.

Yan Shaoting, who now has a three-inch beard, no longer has the youthfulness of the past on his face. His expression has become more majestic and his eyes are deep.

He also sighed softly, put down the teacup and looked outside the pavilion.

I saw my father looking at me.

Yan Wuyou immediately regained his composure and took another step forward: "Dad, should we ask Grandfather and Second Uncle to come back?"

Yan Wuyou, now fifteen or sixteen years old, seems to be the Yan Shaoting of the past.

young.

Handsome.

There is a heroic spirit between his brows.

Although the royal family urged him several times to come to the court to work, the Yan family rejected him on the grounds that he was a descendant of the Marquis of Changping and could not violate the etiquette.

Yan Shaoting nodded and said, "Your grandfather is still in charge of the Imperial College. Recently, he seems to be pushing for a reform of the imperial examination system. There is no rush to inform him about this. Wait until Eunuch Huang is buried before sending someone to inform him. You can come back to see him off."

Yan Wuyou pondered for a moment before accepting the order and said, "Then let's call our second uncle back first?"

Yan Shaoting shook his head and said, "Your second uncle is now serving as a guard in the palace. The emperor cannot do without his close guards. I asked your brother to take leave from the Imperial College and come back to take care of the household affairs on behalf of your father."

Yan Wuyou still nodded and accepted the order.

Then he stood quietly aside, waiting to see if his father and Mr. Xu had any further instructions.

Yan Shaoting sighed again.

"What number is this?"

Xu Wei glanced at him and whispered, "Life is full of birth, aging, sickness and death. You don't have to worry too much."

Yan Shaoting shook his head and said, "My grandfather passed away a few years ago. I felt dazed for a while. If it weren't for the heavy state affairs, I would have followed my father to mourn for my grandfather. Later, it was Master Nie, then Master Qian, and Eunuch Lu has been gone for several years. Now it's Huang Jin's turn."

Xu Wei is now very old, with most of his hair white, but he looks at this matter of life and death calmly.

He smiled and said, "If we all become immortal, how can these young people grow up?"

Say it.

Xu Wei then turned his gaze to Yan Wuyou who was standing beside him.

The only officials of the Yan family serving in the court now are Yan Shaoting, who still holds the position of Prime Minister, and Yan Shifan, who returned to the court after three years of mourning and still serves as the chief academic officer of the Imperial College.

However, Yan Wuyou, as the fourth generation of the Yan family, only held a few official positions and received salaries.

But nothing was lost because of this.

This child is good at everything.

He studied Confucian classics from Master Nie and others since he was young. When he grew up, he learned new knowledge from Shuai Jiamo and others. He also learned martial arts from his second uncle, Yan Hu, the only Dragon and Tiger General in the Ming Dynasty.

Both civil and military.

Totally worthy of him.

In recent years, the threshold of the Yan family has been trampled down by civil and military officials and gentry from both inside and outside the capital.

Yan Shaoting narrowed his eyes and snorted twice: "I just feel that time flies. I never felt it in the past, but now I feel a little greedy and don't want to grow old with the years."

Having been the Prime Minister of the Ming Cabinet for many years, he is still calm and steady.

Say it.

He then looked at Yan Wuyou.

"How is the Emperor doing?"

Although his son did not serve in the court, he did not prevent him from being summoned to the palace by the emperor from time to time.

The little emperor needs playmates. Even when he grows up, he still needs a few caring people who can talk to him from the heart and put his status as emperor aside for the time being.

This is also the relationship he has now established between the Yan family and the royal family.

Yan Wuyou immediately replied: "The emperor is preparing to inspect the Beijing camp recently, it seems..."

"What does it seem like?"

Yan Shaoting frowned slightly: "No matter how big or small the matter is, why hesitate?"

After being scolded by his father, Yan Wuyou immediately replied: "Your Majesty seems to be interested in inspecting the Beijing Camp and going to Nanjing to inspect the Southern Camp. He asked his son if he was willing to serve him."

Yan Shaoting was stunned for a moment, as if he was thinking about something.

Xu Wei laughed at the side: "Look at your student, this son. They want to start splitting up Nanzhili right now and remove Nanjing's status as the secondary capital."

Upon hearing this, Yan Wuyou immediately lowered his head.

Yan Shaoting looked at his son deeply and asked, "Did you mention this to the emperor?"

Yan Wuyou's shoulders trembled, and he quickly raised his head and said with a frown, "I dare not, it was your Majesty who suggested it. I just said... Father did have such a plan for the matter of Nanzhili, but still felt that the time was not right."

Yan Shaoting snorted coldly.

He didn't think his son would be so foolish as to take the initiative to mention the issue of splitting up Southern Zhili in front of the emperor.

He still has some brains.

That is, the little emperor, who has grown up, wants to do this matter himself.

This made him a little worried.

Xu Wei comforted him, "You have been looking after the world for many years on behalf of the Emperor and the Emperor Mu. The Emperor has grown up now, and it is time for him to rule the country as you said. The Emperor has learned from you for so many years, and his abilities are better than those of the ancestors. It is reasonable for him to try his hand now."

Yan Shaoting glanced sideways at the old fellow.

No words were spoken.

Xu Wei continued, "The Jialong New Deal has been in place for so many years, and now it is the Jialong Wan New Deal. The land tax has been distributed according to the land area, and the unified tax payment has been implemented. Even the copper and silver tax collection has been implemented according to the situation of each province. Hai Rui has been devoted to the reform of civil and military administration in recent years. The nine frontiers, the capital camp, and the garrisons have been completely revamped, and those candidates for official positions have accounted for 70% of the civil service in the country. The emperor must have felt that the time has come to split up Nanzhili, and naturally wanted to make it the top priority after he took power."

Got here.

Yan Shaoting finally slowly opened his mouth: "I don't mean to stop him. It's the same whether it's splitting up Nanzhili now or in a few years. He even wants to split up all the prefectures in Nanzhili, making them independent and mutually exclusive, and he can do it. Changping has been doing this for years. The prefectures in Nanzhili are now at odds with each other, and each is competing with each other. Suzhou Prefecture thinks it is the best in Nanzhili, Songjiang Prefecture holds the Shanghai Maritime Customs and thinks it is the future, and Yingtian Prefecture thinks it can still lead Nanzhi two hundred years ago. These are all good things. It's better to have some distinction between each other than to gather together in the past." Yan Wuyou suddenly asked at this time: "Then why does father seem a little hesitant about the emperor's plan to split up Nanzhili?"

When the son asked.

When the father raised his head and looked at his son.

Yan Shaoting frowned slightly.

After a while, he asked, "How far has the steam engine been developed now?"

Yan Wuyou didn't know why his father suddenly asked this, so he could only answer truthfully: "It is still possible to load thousands of kilograms of goods on the rails. The coal mines in Shanxi are now using this thing. I heard that the effect is very good. According to the estimation of the Ministry of Revenue, in two or three years, coal will be able to gradually replace firewood."

Yan Shaoting smiled faintly: "It's only a few thousand pounds. Do you think it can connect the north and the south?"

Yan Wuyou raised his eyebrows and then closed his mouth.

Xu Wei smiled slightly and looked at the young man.

Yan Shaoting spoke slowly, and taught earnestly: "The split of Nanzhili is imperative. This is a necessary way to break the clean gentry in Jiangnan. Only when Jiangsu and Zhejiang do not stick together can the court be assured, and the financial and tax revenues of Jiangsu and Zhejiang can be used for the court and distributed to the world. But this cannot completely separate Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The court cannot ignore it. The opposition between the various prefectures is a national policy, but it cannot let the people of the various prefectures completely oppose each other. Harmony but difference is the best."

Yan Wuyou seemed to have figured something out.

He glanced at his father.

Seeing that the other person was looking at him, he spoke carefully.

"Father, what you mean is...Now that the annual taxes of various prefectures in Nanzhili have been remitted to Beijing by sea, will this steam engine be used to connect the prefectures in Nanzhili with the capital?"

With Yan Shaoting gaining power, he firmly sat in the position of Prime Minister of the Cabinet.

That year, Southern Zhili completed the land-based tax system and the unified tax payment system.

The imperial court immediately changed the way the prefectures in Southern Zhili collected taxes.

In the past, all prefectures in Nanzhili had to send their taxes for the year to Nanjing.

Now, taxes from various prefectures in Nanzhili are sent directly to the capital.

This move naturally weakened the presence and authority of Nanjing, and also slightly weakened the connections between the various prefectures in Southern Zhili.

Yan Shaoting said bluntly: "That is the business of your generation, not your father's generation. Just like splitting Huguang into Hunan and Hubei, this is also your business."

Yan Wuyou looked puzzled: "Then father..."

Yan Shaoting had already stood up and walked out of the pavilion.

He lowered his head and looked down the mountain.

In the shade of the trees at the foot of the mountain, a column of white steam whizzed by with a humming sound, then drove out of the academy, and finally appeared in the field outside, revealing a steam locomotive that was somewhat similar to the one he was familiar with.

The speed of the steam train became faster and faster after leaving the academy.

This made Yan Shaoting feel even more dazed.

I just feel that time is passing faster and faster.

He gradually lost control of his way forward.

"Father."

Yan Wuyou called out again from behind him.

"The empire is changing with each passing day, and it is beyond my control."

"The words at the entrance of the academy back then, 'Every generation has its own talented people', were actually meant to be printed on your generation."

Yan Shaoting suddenly said something with emotion.

Yan Wuyou's heart trembled.

Could it be that my father, who is only forty years old now, has really thought about resigning from his position as Prime Minister of the Cabinet?

"But the world is changing so fast, and we can't just blindly chase after it. We need to be calm and think about what to do next."

"The more it is now, the slower you should go."

"Because there is no precedent, all steps are new."

Down the mountain.

The sound of suona has already been heard.

That was blown for Huang Jin.

This old man from the reign of King Sejong finally arrived at this day.

Yan Shaoting added, "Next time you enter the palace, you can tell the emperor that he wants to split up Nanzhili as the first thing he does when he takes power. As a teacher, I will not stop him, nor will I interfere. He can do whatever he wants. Everything... just like in the past, I, as a teacher, will watch over him from behind."

I saw my father suddenly agreed.

There was no joy on Yan Wuyou's face, but instead a frown.

However, Yan Shaoting continued to instruct: "Tell Wang Xijue, Shen Shixing and others to fully cooperate with the emperor in splitting up Nanzhili. All officials from Changping must not slack off. The Ministry of Personnel's Selection Department should prepare in advance and dispatch reserve officials who have been inspected to serve in various prefectures in Nanzhili. As for Nanying, I will also discuss with Lord Zhang to transfer your uncle to take charge. With him as the Duke of Yingguo, nothing should go wrong."

I thought about it.

Feeling that there was nothing more to arrange, Yan Shaoting stopped talking.

innovation.

The word "reform" is always the most difficult.

As long as the reform is done well, the so-called new things will naturally go smoothly.

He went down the mountain.

Leaving behind his grown-up son to think about the future of the empire.

Yan Shaoting went all the way to the academy.

Standing in front of the Huang Jin mourning hall that had already been set up.

That year, Lu Fang, Huang Jin and others came out of the palace and went to Changping.

On the one hand, he was guarding the tomb of Emperor Sejong, and on the other hand, he was living in Changping in his old age.

Squatting in front of Huang Jin's spirit, Yan Shaoting threw a handful of paper money into the brazier.

Seeing this, the servants around quietly dispersed.

Seeing the paper money burning, Yan Shaoting raised his head and looked at the tablet belonging to Huang Jin.

Because of the matter of life and death, he seemed to see scenes from the past.

It was at this time.

A voice that couldn't be more familiar came into his ears.

"I heard that my husband was a little overthinking today. I wonder what the reason is?"

Lu Wenyan, the head wife of the Yan family, had already changed into mourning clothes and was kneeling on a cushion beside her, adding a handful of incense to the brazier.

Then she glanced sideways at her husband who had been with her for many years.

Yan Shaoting turned his head to look.

There was finally a hint of tenderness on her face.

"I just feel..."

“This life is only halfway through.”

“But perhaps what I wanted to do has already been done.”

Lu Wenyan is already in her thirties, but she doesn't seem to have suffered the effects of time.

Her brows were slightly wrinkled, but there was a smile on her face.

"Oh? So my husband finally has time to accompany me to travel around the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty and see all the splendor of our dynasty?"

Yan Shaoting nodded.

"hold on……"

"The last few things are over."

"Not only will I accompany you to see the magnificent sights of the two capitals and thirteen provinces."

"I will also accompany you on a boat trip to the sea, and see me with the sun and moon tomorrow!"

…………

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(End of this chapter)