When Yang Fan returned to Chang'an, it was late autumn.

Fallen leaves spread on both sides of the road, and every now and then a cool breeze blows, bringing a slight chill, and the continuous sound of bells in the distance is distant and desolate.

He listened attentively for a long time before he lifted the curtain and asked the attendant who had come to greet him: "In the last few days, has there been any noble person who is inappropriate?" ”

The precipitation of the years and the life of a long time in a high position made him sweep away the wandering wind of his youth and become deep and steady. Even if you sit in a carriage that is not gorgeous, you will feel like sitting in a temple.

The steward didn't dare to slack off, so he hurriedly lowered his head and replied: "My lord expects things to be like a god, when the eldest princess of Li died of illness before the twenty-fifth day, the saint mourned and gave the Sui family a generous gift. The Sui family also devoted themselves to a big event, not only feasting guests, but also inviting the famous Buddhist temples and Taoist temples in Chang'an to make a water and land dojo for the eldest princess of Dangli, and Zunshan Temple even rang three thousand bells for the eldest princess of Dangli. Speaking of which, there is an unstoppable feeling of envy.

When the eldest princess passed away, she was already seventy-two, which is a rare longevity. She was not tormented by illness and quietly left in her sleep, which is a joy and mourning, and children and grandchildren do not need to be too sad.

During his lifetime, he was noble, blessed with a long life, and full of children and grandchildren; After his death, he mourned and continued to shelter his descendants. If a person can do this, it is really worthwhile.

Yang Fan has no feelings for the eldest princess of Dangli at all, not only that, when he heard the pomp and circumstance of the death of the eldest princess of Dangli, he didn't say anything, but scolded "idiot" in his heart!

In the era of peace and prosperity, the wind of luxury is gradually flourishing. The Sons of Heaven of this dynasty have led by example, advocating simplicity and simplicity, and opposing extravagance and waste, especially at funerals.

Because the world believes that "serving death is like serving life". That is, what treatment do you enjoy when you are alive, and you should have the same treatment when you die, otherwise your children and grandchildren will not be filial, and you will not be at ease under Jiuquan, resulting in a thick burial wind that is better than a day, and often cheapens those tomb robbers.

The emperor admired the thin burial, and even set an example, and this dynasty has been passed down to the present, and he is the fifth emperor. When it comes to the grandeur of the funeral ceremony and the number of funeral items, I am afraid that the four ancestors of this dynasty are not as good as an emperor at the end of the previous dynasty. At this time, the Sui family not only did not realize the intentions, but also made a big deal about the funeral of the eldest princess, and the saint did not show it on his face, and he was afraid that he was not very happy in his heart.

When the funeral of the eldest princess is of this standard, won't her sisters compare? Even if her sisters don't want to compare, their children and grandchildren must also compare, otherwise people are terrible, what if they don't have filial piety as the Sui family? The aunt is a funeral of this scale, what about the niece? Won't there be a way to learn? Not to mention those princes and county kings, how can this trend be stopped? But the saint can't say anything, not only because the eldest princess is her elder, but also because this is a custom that has been passed down for thousands of years.

Let the emperor suffer such a dumb loss, the Sui family is also remarkable.

No wonder over the years, the Sui family has not been able to get up, and it is useless to do anything without the emperor's pulse.

When the eldest princess Li was alive, the Sui family could barely maintain the status of a first-class noble, and when the eldest princess Li went like this, even if the saint would not forget the Sui family, anyone with a discerning eye could see that this family had been reduced to a second-rate, and there was no way to intervene on key issues.

It's good that he didn't come back, but now that he's back, he has to go to the Dangli Eldest Princess's Mansion to pay respects.

But......

Before that, he had to face the saint first, and after facing the saint, he would go to the Zhao Guogong Mansion again.

Zhao Guogongyu Chi Guan to Zaifu, after the Zhishi, he was crowned Tai Lieutenant and presented the three divisions of the Fuyi. Even if he no longer appears in the court, the saint's trust in him will not be shaken, let alone his wife, the eldest princess Xin Cai. Even if the saint has several aunts, it depends on status. Among the princesses, when the eldest princess of Li is gone, the eldest princess of Xincai is the only one.

Because of this, the door of Zhao Guogong's mansion is not so easy to enter, but Yang Fan does not belong to this list.

Bowang Hou Yang Fanjian was in the emperor's heart, and since ten years ago, he took over part of Yuchi's work and was responsible for the trade of the border city.

In the past decade, the border wars have been won again and again, forcing the two biggest enemies of Bactria, the Turks and Tibet, to expand westward. The Turks, in particular, carried out a frenzied attack on the countries of the Western Regions after moving westward to replenish the damage they had suffered in the war with the Han Dynasty.

The countries of the Western Regions were small and weak, and they had to be under the iron horse, and the countries were swept away, bringing countless gold, silver, jewelry, livestock, cattle and sheep to the Turks.

Although the gold and silver were good, they could not support people, which led to the prosperity of the cities of Bactria and the Turks. The Turks traded large sums of gold and silver with the Han Chinese to buy the necessities of their lives. What Yang Fan has to do is, first, to supervise, not to let too much grain and medicine flow out, and by the way, to negotiate with the Turks, not only gold and silver, but also to get more cattle and sheep back; the second is to maintain order and save the city from any chaos; The third is to cooperate with the Lijing Gate to secretly make a comprehensive record of some wall grass--in the face of such crazy interests, in addition to the things that the government allows to be bought and sold, the merchants are also not hesitant to sell weapons to the Turks, or even go further.

The continuous inflow of gold and silver greatly filled the wounds suffered by Great Xia due to the war, and did not deal a particularly big blow to the national strength. The glory and reward obtained by the triumphant return of the army also contributed to the prosperity of the practice of martial arts in the world, as well as the people's thirst for population.

The folk trend of infantile drowning and killing children is endless, but who is the one who has lost his conscience and wants to kill his own flesh and blood? But if you can't feed it, you can't feed it, not only to eat and drink, but more importantly, if you have one more population in a family, you have to bear one more tax. But according to the land grant system of this dynasty, the country does not have so much land for the people, not to mention the plundering of land by families, nobles, and heroes.

The acres of land cannot be increased, the output is only so much in a year, and if the family has a large population, they have to pay more taxes. This is definitely a great burden on the common people.

The war changed all that.

Farmers who could only face the loess with their backs to the sky and work hard all their lives chose to join the army. Those who fail to meet the conditions for joining the army regret it and work hard to give birth. Even many clans have made conditions that if any family has children who can't afford to raise them, they can help a part.

After all, the imperial court has decreed that even if the soldiers who fight abroad, even if they are disabled, the imperial court has preferential treatment, and they can exempt some or even all of the taxes in their homes. If you hit the luck and have military merits, it is possible for the carp to jump over the dragon gate!

After one big war after another, I don't know how many families have benefited from it, and people are very greedy to see it, but they are suffering from the increasingly strict selection of the army, and there is no way to be selected. Fortunately, it is not too late to make amends, and for the sake of today, of course, it is to let the children practice more martial arts, and encourage the clansmen to raise more children. As long as you raise a lot, there will always be one or two who can be selected by the army with high standards and strict requirements and sent to the battlefield.

Yang Fan begged to see Yuchi, not only because the two had a "half-division friendship", but more importantly, the Turks were advancing westward, and all countries naturally wanted to seek help from Great Xia.

Honglu Temple received these envoys very kindly, but the specific policies and strategies will be discussed by the imperial court. In this matter, Yang Fan must be involved, so he will sell it to Yuchi. In case when Yuchi was in the Western Regions, there were people he knew who wanted to repay his kindness or take revenge, wouldn't he be able to do it by the way?

Yang Fan faced Yuchi, his posture was very low, and when he talked about the city, he was not only proud, but also a little worried: "The prosperity of the city is in full swing." ”

The money flowing in front of his eyes is measured in tens of millions every day, and Rao is Yang Fan is well-informed, and he can't help but be a little frightened.

He is not worried about charges such as treason, as long as he doesn't think about it, no one will put this charge on his head. He was afraid that he would not be able to grasp the proportions, after all, the battle had been fought so much, who knew what the imperial court thought, and what Qin Wan thought?

Besides, the consumption of grain and grass by the war is huge, if it were not for the opening of the Jiangnan Canal and the repair of the southeast transportation road, the Grand Canal would have been completely connected. The grain and grass from Jinzhong, Jiangnan and even Liaodong were continuously transported to Guanzhong, and it was impossible to support the war consumption of the Turks for ten years.

Great Xia snatched pasture, cattle and sheep from the Turks, but is this enough?

Yuchi pondered for a moment before asking: "When the eldest princess passed away, did Jing Zhike send a funeral?" ”

"The government has sent someone to send it, and I plan to go there tomorrow." Yang Fan didn't understand why Yu Chi asked like this, but he understood that Yu Chi would not be untargeted.

Sui Family......

Yang Fan had doubts in his heart, and went to the mansion of the eldest princess of Dangli early the next morning.

The eldest princess of Dangli has three sons, more than 20 grandchildren and granddaughters, and countless great-grandsons and great-granddaughters.

The main vein alone is so huge, but there are few who really use it.

It is no wonder that when the sons of the saint ordered the nobles to go to the Hanhai Metropolitan Protectorate, the Sui family did not respond positively; When the sage went to war against the Turks, the Sui family also shrank behind. After the victory, the Sui family looked hot, but they wanted to help. But at that time, there were more people who were eager to serve the saints, and like a piece of fat, everyone was vying to take a bite.

It is true that the face of the eldest princess of Li is enough, but there are many, many people who have enough face, and the only Quyang County Duke of the Sui family who can fight is easy to "grab" an official and a half-job. It's a pity that before the war started, he had to come back to Ding Wei.

Because of this, the gloomy color on Quyang County's face is not adulterated at all. Compared with his younger brother, who looks like he is only in his thirties, I don't know how old and haggard he is.

Yang Fan didn't know that thirty years ago, the Duke of Quyang County, whose name was Chang'an, was the dream of countless spring girls. At that time, Xiao Yu, Ye Ling, and Jiang Yuan were all overshadowed by him, not to mention his younger brother. One day at a time, there is no comparison.

It's a pity that once you make a mistake, it will be 20 years of silence.

Yu Chi witnessed the past of the two brothers and felt a lot of emotion. Although Yang Fan didn't know the inside story, he thought of Quyang County's desire for military exploits, and he realized something in his heart.

Quyang County is still like this, and other people's expectations for the war will only be more, not less.

The Great Xia, a war machine, once turned on, could no longer stop.