Holding the Emperor Hostage : Chapter 76: The Hot Spring Palace

Chen Yong was blocked at the palace gates for a full three hours before he was finally allowed to enter Chongde Hall.

Chen Yong looked at Chongde Hall, which was almost identical to the Luoyang imperial palace, with a flood of mixed emotions. In a daze, he had the illusion that times had changed.

Just then, footsteps sounded from beside him. Chen Yong looked up and saw the Son of Heaven enter the hall, surrounded by eunuchs and guards.

“This old minister pays respects to Your Majesty.” Chen Yong bowed in greeting.

The former Libationer of the Imperial Academy, who had always been proud of his own achievements, had finally learned to behave. Upon seeing His Majesty, he bowed respectfully and was no longer the dashing and arrogant man of years past.

Yin Shuhuai looked at Chen Yong with a beaming smile, asking with concern how his health was. His words were as warm as a spring breeze, with not the slightest hint of estrangement.

Chen Yong responded to His Majesty’s pleasantries with a respectful attitude, sighing silently in his heart. He looked with some emotion at the emperor before him, who was smiling and chatting in a calm and peaceful manner. He had been arranged by Huo Yan to serve as the Emperor’s tutor when Yin Shuhuai was still a puppet emperor. He had witnessed with his own eyes how Yin Shuhuai had grown from a puppet in the hands of a powerful minister to what he was now.

The little emperor who once could not even decide on making an iron pot had now become a wise ruler who expanded territory and governed diligently.

If Huo Yan had a spirit in heaven, one wondered whether he would feel gratified or regret that he had not insisted on deposing the emperor back then.

Regardless of what Huo Yan might think, Chen Yong had some regrets.

Had he known this day would come, he would never have gotten involved with Wang Su and the others. He had originally been the Emperor’s tutor and should have been a natural member of the emperor’s faction. Yet he had fallen for Wang Su’s scheme and ended up in such an awkward position.

Thinking carefully, of the three tutors Huo Yan had arranged by His Majesty’s side, Lu Kuan, who served as Commandant of Justice, almost never participated in court disputes apart from teaching. Wang Su was very active in court, but because the Taiyuan Wang clan’s foundation was too formidable, even His Majesty and the Duke of Yan did not dare to act rashly against them. In the end, only Chen Yong and the Nanyang Chen clan had become the chicken killed to warn the monkeys.

Thinking of his eldest son, who had been ruined and was now hiding at home drowning his sorrows in drink, Chen Yong was overwhelmed with regret. His eldest son was finished, but the Nanyang Chen clan could not simply decline into obscurity. To save the future of the Nanyang Chen clan, he had no choice but to offer his allegiance.

Thinking of this, Chen Yong sat up straight and opened his mouth to say: “I have a plan that can make the Yin house dark yet bright again…”

What Chen Yong and Yin Shuhuai discussed in Chongde Hall, outsiders did not know. All that was known was that after Chen Yong’s audience, Chancellor Yao Wenruo submitted a memorial earnestly requesting that the court establish a Weaving Bureau in Jiangnan. Before the great clans and meritorious nobles could even figure out what this Jiangnan Weaving Bureau was supposed to do, His Majesty actually brought up the matter at a grand court session and had all the civil and military officials discuss the feasibility of establishing a Weaving Bureau in Jiangnan.

Only then did the court officials realize that this Weaving Bureau was an institution specifically responsible for producing brocade, dragon robes, and official silk textiles for the imperial house. Because its function fell under the jurisdiction of the Chamberlain for the Palace Revenues, the officials had no room to comment. As for placing the Weaving Bureau in Jiangnan, it was because the Jiangnan region had a special climate that was extremely suitable for raising silkworms and planting mulberry trees. Moreover, the cloud brocade produced in Jiankang and the Shu brocade produced in Shuzhong were renowned throughout the world for their magnificent beauty and consummate craftsmanship.

Hearing this, everyone suddenly understood. They felt that the reason Yao Wenruo had submitted such a memorial was probably that Shentu Yang wanted to use the Shu brocade, cloud brocade, and other items produced by the Jiangnan Weaving Bureau to please His Majesty.

Thinking of Shentu Yang’s fawning face before His Majesty, the civil and military officials were struck speechless. Commandant of the Palace Guards Wang Su calmly brought up another matter: “The Jiangnan region has a developed water system, vast land and sparse population, and thanks to its climate, it is extremely suitable for raising silkworms and planting mulberry trees. This reminds me of the water-powered spinning wheel invented by the Palace Workshops some time ago. Perhaps such a spinning wheel would find its best use in Jiangnan.”

With just these words, he sketched out a picture of wealth pouring in for the great clans and meritorious nobles. For a time, many great clans and meritorious nobles were moved to action, all quietly calculating in their hearts the feasibility of dispatching merchant caravans to Jiangnan to establish weaving workshops.

Once they had thought this through, the great clans and meritorious nobles, each harboring their own thoughts, did not voice opposition. Although they were constantly on guard against His Majesty and the Duke of Yan implementing new policies in Jiangnan, a Weaving Bureau that was clearly established to please a beloved one was obviously not something the great clans and meritorious nobles needed to be wary of.

It was not until the news spread through the capital that Chen Yong had been recommended as the first Director of the Jiangnan Weaving Bureau and would soon depart south to take up his post that the great clans and meritorious nobles felt their hearts sink.

This personnel appointment directly disrupted the original plans of the great clans and meritorious nobles. The great clans and meritorious nobles who were in the midst of planning and laying out grand commercial schemes in Jiangnan and Shuzhong exchanged glances. For a time, they all had private doubts, not knowing what deeper meaning this seemingly ordinary Weaving Bureau held, or why Shentu Yang would recommend Chen Yong as its first Director.

Indeed, although the memorial recommending Chen Yong as the first Director of the Jiangnan Weaving Bureau was submitted by the Chancellor of the State of Yan, Yao Wenruo, in the eyes of everyone, this was certainly the intention of Shentu Yang, or even His Majesty himself.

The great clans and meritorious nobles did not know what Shentu Yang and His Majesty were plotting. They only had a gut feeling that this matter seemed to bode ill for the great clans and meritorious nobles.

And so, after another grand court session, a group of people paid a joint visit to the home of the Imperial Censor Zhao Bushi. This was because the Xuzhou Zhao clan behind Zhao Bushi was a local powerful clan in Jiangnan itself. The clan head of the Zhao clan, Zhao Buji, had been personally appointed by His Majesty as Governor of Yizhou. The great clans and meritorious nobles did not believe that the court could establish a Weaving Bureau in Jiangnan without the active cooperation of the Zhao clan.

However, Imperial Censor Zhao Bushi truly did not know what medicine His Majesty and the Duke of Yan were selling in their gourd. At least, that was what he himself said.

Facing Zhao Bushi, who answered every question with “I don’t know,” the great clans and meritorious nobles also began to turn angry from embarrassment.

“We great clans should share the same breath and branches. Yet now the Imperial Censor looks left and right while speaking of other things. Why is this?”

Zhao Bushi looked with a calm expression at the great clans and meritorious nobles, who were in a state of chaos like a pot of porridge, and asked a single question in a peaceful tone: “Even if the court’s establishment of a Weaving Bureau in Jiangnan has profound meaning, do you have the ability to stop it?”

Setting aside the nearly million-strong Yan army in Shentu Yang’s hands, even the tens of thousands of northern army soldiers in His Majesty’s hands were not something the private troops and retainers of these great clans and meritorious nobles could contend with.

Hearing this, the crowd was struck dumb. They belatedly realized that they truly had no way to stop the court from implementing any plans in Jiangnan. This was because Jiangnan was too far from Ji County and Guanzhong, and the great clans and meritorious nobles could not reach that far.

“But your Zhao clan…” This sentence could not even be finished.

Indeed! Although the Xuzhou Zhao clan was a local powerful clan and perhaps had the ability to disrupt the court’s grand plans in Jiangnan, what reason did the Zhao clan have to do so? Just because they were all meritorious nobles and powerful families, should the Xuzhou Zhao clan become the vanguard horse for the great clans and meritorious nobles in resisting the court?

Even if the great clans and meritorious nobles had such thoughts, they would not be foolish enough to say them out loud. Zhao Bushi and the Xuzhou Zhao clan were not easy marks like Chen Yong and the Nanyang Chen clan.

Especially that old fox Zhao Buji. Even when Shentu Yang spread the Zhao family’s scandals far and wide, he could swallow the insult and carry on, using the excuse of being bedridden with illness to hide his light and bide his time, while allowing the Zhao clan to continue assisting Shentu Yang in implementing new policies in the various commanderies of Jiangnan.

Now Zhao Bushi served as Imperial Censor in court, and Zhao Buji served as Governor of Yizhou. With two high officials in a single family, the Zhao clan had already reaped sufficient political benefits from their wholehearted support of His Majesty. Why would they risk the destruction of their family and clan for the survival and safety of other great clans, and actively rebel against His Majesty and the Duke of Yan?

At this point, there was nothing left for the crowd to discuss. The great clans and meritorious nobles took their leave one after another. Zhao Bushi watched their retreating figures and silently shook his head.

The day after Chen Yong departed for Jiangnan to take up his post, Yin Shuhuai also set out for the Little Tangshan hot spring palace.

The Duke of Yan, Shentu Yang, personally served as escort, guarding His Majesty’s carriage to Little Tangshan in the suburbs of the capital.

Actually, Little Tangshan had not originally been called Little Tangshan. Since His Majesty bestowed the name, it had simply been changed to this name.

Yin Shuhuai sat in the imperial carriage, gazing at the distant scenery.

It was early winter. Last night, a snowfall had just occurred. A thin layer of snow covered the fields stretching as far as the eye could see, a scene of desolation.

Shentu Yang immediately rode his horse up close and asked with a beaming smile: “Would Your Majesty like to ride a horse?”

Yin Shuhuai shook his head and said offhandedly: “The wind outside is biting and cold. The Duke of Yan has just recovered from a serious illness. It would be best to return to the carriage and rest.”

Shentu Yang did not take it to heart. “I have been lying down so much recently that my bones ache. Riding a horse will help me loosen up.”

For someone like Shentu Yang, who could almost be said to have been born in the saddle, making him lie in bed all day to conserve his strength was a form of torture. Shentu Yang felt that this illness had made his bones rust shut. He urgently needed a hearty battle to restore his body’s instincts.

Seeing this, Yin Shuhuai no longer tried to persuade him.

By the time the procession of carriages arrived at the hot spring palace, it was already around noon.

This was the first time Yin Shuhuai had come to the hot spring palace since its completion.

Although it was already early winter, inside the hot spring palace it was as warm as spring. Carved beams and painted rafters, plants and flowers in full bloom. A tower every five paces, a pavilion every ten paces. Near the hot springs, dozens of acres had been opened up, and several greenhouses had been built using glass manufactured by the Palace Workshops, used for growing flowers and vegetables. Looking from afar, peach blossoms, apricot blossoms, pear blossoms, and plum blossoms bloomed in patches amid the swirling mist. The crystal-clear greenhouses glittered dazzlingly in the refraction of sunlight, faintly carrying an ethereal quality like the Penglai immortal realm.

“Wenruo has done well.” Shentu Yang’s eyes lit up, and he praised with a smile: “This is the kind of palace His Majesty should live in.”

The Son of Heaven ought to live in an immortal palace. Shentu Yang had always felt that the Yan region was bitterly cold, which somewhat wronged His Majesty. Fortunately, His Majesty was born with knowledge, directing the Palace Workshops to invent methods for refining pure salt and establishing livestock farms and other side-processing industries, allowing Youzhou to acquire vast wealth in a short time. The Little Tangshan hot springs that he directed Yao Wenruo to find had transformed the Yan region into a Penglai immortal realm.

It was only a pity that the fruit trees that had been planted had not yet borne fruit. Shentu Yang could not help feeling some regret. But for hot pot this winter, at least they would not be short of vegetables.