Chapter 405 A scholar dies for his confidant
Afterwards, Yang Zhengshan followed Eunuch Chen to the imperial study in Taiji Hall.

In the study, Emperor Chengping had changed into loose clothes and was leaning on the couch reading a memorial.

"Your Majesty, I, Yang Zhengshan, greet you!" Yang Zhengshan said with a fist clasped.

"No need to be polite! Sit down and talk." Emperor Chengping waved his hand casually.

Eunuch Chen brought a small stool, and Yang Zhengshan thanked him before sitting on it.

Emperor Chengping put down the memorial, looked at Yang Zhengshan and asked, "Why did you let Yang Chengzhi serve as the lieutenant general of Chongshan Town North Road?"

Yang Zhengshan was startled and was about to stand up to answer, but Emperor Chengping held his hand back and said, "Just sit down and talk!"

"Next, I plan to develop Fuzhou, and I don't feel safe using other people!" Yang Zhengshan replied as he sat down.

"Oh! How to open Fuzhou?" Emperor Chengping asked with interest.

Yang Zhengshan replied honestly: "Fuzhou has thousands of miles of fertile land. Although many military households and civilians have moved there in recent years, there are still not many cultivated fields!"

"From Black Cloud Mountain to the seashore, that stretch of land is rich in water and fertile. If it could all be reclaimed, it could feed millions of people!"

This was something he had thought of a long time ago.

The land around Fuzhou City is all fertile black soil. The Donghai Hu people in the past were not good at farming, and even if they occupied this fertile black soil, they did not know how to cultivate it.

Now that Yang Zhengshan is in charge of Chongshan Town, he naturally wants to make use of this fertile black soil.

In fact, the northern part of Chongshan Town is rich in resources, such as the black soil around Fuzhou City, the herbs and furs in Heiyun Mountain, and the grasslands on both sides of Songyuan River.

In comparison, the original Chongshan Town was much poorer.

If Yang Zhengshan wants to develop Chongshan Town, he must make use of the resources in the north of Chongshan Town.

Land reclamation, animal husbandry, herb cultivation and fur hunting, etc., can all become the pillar industries of Chongshan Town.

"Yang Mingzhi is your son!"

"I always promote talented people regardless of their relationship with me. Mingzhi is the most capable one among my three sons!" Yang Zhengshan said frankly.

He did not include Ming Zhao here, after all, Ming Zhao is only five years old now.

Emperor Chengping nodded, a smile appearing on his old face.

"Then why did you recommend Han Cheng, Zhang Yuanwu, Wu Chongzhe and Yu Tonghai to serve as commanders of the Tenglong Four Guards?" Emperor Chengping continued to ask.

Yang Zhengshan explained: "Yu Tonghai is the only one who can lead the Tenglong Guard Navy. In terms of navy training and command, I am far inferior to Lord Yu Tonghai!"

"Wu Chongzhe is familiar with Tenglongwei's affairs and can be in charge of Tenglongwei's salt fields and maritime trade. I kept him in Tenglongwei because I don't want Tenglongwei to decline!"

"Han Cheng is a steady and thoughtful person. Although he doesn't know much about Tenglongwei, he and Wu Chongzhe have worked together for many years. The two can cooperate with each other and there will be no rift between them!"

"Zhang Yuanwu made great contributions in the battle against Songzhou City and should have been promoted. I think he is quite capable, so I plan to let him join Tenglong Guard!"

Emperor Chengping nodded as he listened.

He didn't know much about these people, and only knew a little about Yu Tonghai. After all, it was he who arranged Yu Tonghai into Tenglong Guard.

Now after listening to Yang Zhengshan's explanation, he understood the original intention of Yang Zhengshan's arrangement.

After all, Yang Zhengshan just wanted to ensure that Tenglongwei could continue to prosper, rather than decline after he left.

This comes from Yang Zhengshan's public spirit, not for personal gain.

Emperor Chengping then asked many more questions, and Yang Zhengshan explained them one by one.

As Yang Zhengshan explained, Emperor Chengping's attitude became more moderate.

"You have considered everything very carefully. I am relieved to leave Chongshan Town to you!"

"This is my job, I dare not take credit for it!" Yang Zhengshan said.

Emperor Chengping looked at Yang Zhengshan approvingly, "The Crown Prince hasn't arranged a mansion for you yet, has he?"

"Uh, no!" Yang Zhengshan was stunned. He didn't expect Emperor Chengping to suddenly change the subject.

"Then I will give you the mansion of Marquis Wuxin. It just so happens that Marquis Wuxin also has 8,000 acres of granted land outside the capital, which I will also give to you!" said Emperor Chengping.

Yang Zhengshan stood up and thanked him, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace and reward!"

Marquis Wuxin is finished!
If the mansion and the granted land were taken away from him, he would certainly lose his title, and his family might even be affected.

But this has nothing to do with Yang Zhengshan. He got a marquisate and 8,000 acres of granted land, which is a considerable income.

You should know that Marquis Wuxin's ancestor was also a duke, but because it has been passed down from generation to generation, he has now become a second-class marquis. Although the title has been lowered, Marquis Wuxin's mansion is of the size of a duke's mansion.

A marquis's mansion alone is worth a fortune.

Emperor Chengping really valued Yang Zhengshan, otherwise he would never have given this mansion to Yang Zhengshan.

The two chatted for half an hour. Emperor Chengping felt a little tired, so he let Yang Zhengshan leave.

When Yang Zhengshan walked out of the imperial city, there was a complex emotion in his eyes.

Emperor Chengping truly appreciated and trusted him.

This even touched Yang Zhengshan, who was not interested in the old emperor.

In Yang Zhengshan's opinion, the emperor is also a human being. He has never had any idea of ​​loyalty to the emperor. But when he met Emperor Chengping today, he suddenly felt that Emperor Chengping was a very charismatic person, which made him unconsciously have more respect for Emperor Chengping.

Many people have helped him along the way.

Zhou Lan, Zhao Yuan, Liu Yuanfu, Wang Bin, Liang Chu and so on.

Yang Zhengshan is a grateful person, so he never forgets those who helped him.

And now, Emperor Chengping trusted him so much and appreciated him so much, which made him feel somewhat grateful to Emperor Chengping.

Emperor Chengping did not strip him of his title of marquis, but instead granted him a mansion and fertile land, and also agreed to the proposal he had submitted previously.

This is different from the prince conferring him a title of nobility. The prince is just using him and treating him as a pawn.

However, Emperor Chengping recognized his ability and supported his proposal out of consideration for state affairs.

"As the ancients said, a gentleman will die for his friend! Today, I finally understand this feeling!"

Yang Zhengshan thought to himself.

……

When Yang Zhengshan walked out of the imperial city, it meant that the fight for the throne in the court had come to an end.

However, at the court the next morning, Yang Zhengshan finally saw the end of this farce. As the newly promoted Marquis of Jing'an, Yang Zhengshan was also qualified to attend the court.

At the morning court session, Emperor Chengping issued three imperial edicts in succession.

The first imperial edict abolished the title of Crown Prince and conferred him the title of Prince of An, with the fiefdom of Nanyun Lu'an Prefecture, and he was to leave the capital to take up his fiefdom that same day.

Once this decree was issued, it meant that the prince had completely lost the qualification to compete for the throne, and his enfeoffment in Nanyun Lu'an Prefecture also meant that he had lost all possibility of turning the tables.

Nanyun Province is the southern border of Dayong, and Lu'an Prefecture is the southern border of Dayong.

Being granted a fief in Nanyun Lu'an Prefecture is no different from being exiled to a remote frontier.

The second imperial edict was that Prince Gong would be enfeoffed as a vassal state, together with the Crown Prince, no, now it was Prince An. Unlike Prince An, Emperor Chengping did not punish Prince Gong severely. He just let him be enfeoffed as a vassal state, and had no intention of punishing him.

From this point, it can be seen that Emperor Chengping is not averse to the fighting between princes. He does not hate the princes using various means to fight for the throne, but he hates incompetent people.

The crown prince was demoted because of his incompetence, and Prince Gong lost the chance to inherit the throne because he was too reckless.

The last imperial edict was to appoint Prince Cheng as the Crown Prince. There was no cover-up or taboo, and Emperor Chengping directly appointed Prince Cheng as the Crown Prince.

When the third imperial edict was read out, Prince Cheng immediately stepped forward to express his gratitude.

Looking at King Cheng, who was full of energy and had a solemn expression, Yang Zhengshan was amazed.

Although both of them were against the crown prince, Prince Gong ended up being a fiefdom, while Prince Cheng won the position of crown prince. There must be something unknown to everyone.

Not only Yang Zhengshan, but all the civil and military officials in the court were surprised.

In fact, there were signs that King Cheng won.

First of all, Emperor Chengping was dissatisfied with the Crown Prince from the beginning, otherwise he would not have allowed Prince Gong and Prince Cheng to observe the government while the Crown Prince was acting as regent.

If he was really satisfied with the prince, there would be no need to cause these things.

Emperor Chengping's feigned illness was actually a test for the crown prince, but unfortunately the crown prince did not pass the test.

In the early days of his regency, the crown prince made many stupid moves, ignored state affairs, and was only interested in competing with Prince Gong and Prince Cheng. This is obviously not the mindset that a monarch should have.

Afterwards, the crown prince forced Prince Gong and Prince Cheng to take a risky move and attack the palace. Instead of stabilizing the situation in the court, the crown prince made the situation worse and worse.

As this was the case, Emperor Chengping naturally became even more dissatisfied with the Crown Prince.

Secondly, Prince Cheng has always been very sensible in this fight. What he did most was to add fuel to the flames and use Prince Gong as a gun.

It was his idea that Prince Gong offered a reward for Yang Zhengshan in Shanhe Tower.

When Prince Gong wanted to break into the palace, he ordered people to open the Xuanping Gate in the outer city of Kyoto.

So he was an accomplice of Prince Gong, but he never took action himself.

Everything was done by Prince Gong, but he could stay out of it.

He appears cynical on the surface, but is actually full of evil intentions.

But Emperor Chengping likes Prince Cheng like this.

In the end, he did not let Miss Yueru take action.

In fact, Miss Yueru is not a person, but a code name.

Prince Gong thought that Miss Yueru was the prince's personal maid, and the prince also knew that the maid around him was Prince Cheng's person.

However, they did not know that Miss Yueru was the code name for four people, including a maid, a eunuch, and two guards, all of whom were around the prince.

That maid was just the visible weapon, the real killer was actually the eunuch.

Prince Cheng had laid this trump card ten years ago.

If he wanted to murder the prince, the prince would have no way to escape.

But he finally chose to give up.

It was not because of brotherhood, but because Emperor Chengping did not want to see them killing each other.

Prince Cheng knew Emperor Chengping's character very well. Emperor Chengping could tolerate their fighting in the court, but would never tolerate them killing each other.

It was because he saw this clearly that he chose to give up.

However, there is one most important point, which is also the key to King Cheng's victory.

That is, Prince Cheng reported the plan of the Crown Prince and Prince Gong to Emperor Chengping yesterday.

Of course, he did not meet Emperor Chengping, but this did not prevent him from submitting the memorial to Emperor Chengping.

The Crown Prince wanted to use the reward for Yang Zhengshan as an excuse to punish Prince Gong and Prince Cheng during the ceremony of conferring nobility titles.

Prince Gong took advantage of the ceremony of conferring nobility to lead his troops to attack the palace.

Prince Cheng had known all of this clearly and reported it to Emperor Chengping in advance.

Emperor Chengping liked obedient people the most, and this incident hit Emperor Chengping's soft spot, making him even more satisfied with Prince Cheng.

Therefore, King Cheng became the final winner.

After the three imperial edicts were announced, all the civil and military officials in the court understood that the dispute over the princes was completely over, but this did not mean that the matter was over.

In the following days, many civil and military officials in the court were demoted or punished.

Marquis Wuxin was sentenced to death, and his title and property were confiscated.

The Duke of Changguo was demoted to a second-class duke. The crown prince Sun Jizong was not strict in educating his children, so he was deprived of the title of crown prince. The second legitimate son of the Duke of Changguo, Sun Jiye, was granted the title of crown prince.

Zhang Ao, Marquis of Xuanping, was dismissed from his post as commander of the Ganyong Camp because he allowed the soldiers of the Ganyong Camp to enter the city through the Xuanping Gate.

However, Zhang Ao is King Cheng's man. Although he has been dismissed from his post, everyone understands that Zhang Ao has a bright future.

All the military officers of the Ganyong Battalion were either dismissed or removed from their posts.

In addition, more than 20 civil and military officials in the court were implicated and exiled from the capital.

However, these have nothing to do with Yang Zhengshan. The only thing Yang Zhengshan cares about is the punishment of Jingyuan Hou Su Gan.

Unfortunately, Jingyuan Hou Su Gan was not deeply involved this time, and his punishment was only a salary deduction.

Of course, Su Gan is now just an idle marquis, and the decline of Jingyuan Marquisate is irreversible.

In contrast, Yang Zhengshan, the Marquis of Jing'an, became the new upstart in Kyoto.

(End of this chapter)