Section 16: The charcoal seller

The willow trees along the Dongyang River are like silk, and the soft grass sways gently in the wind on both sides of the river. April is the most beautiful time of the year in Yushan. Every morning, Yun Ye and the four old gentlemen would stroll along the river and exchange information about their daily schedules.

“Tomorrow morning, His Majesty will summon you to attend. I wonder if you are ready?”

Li Gang walked with his hands behind his back, asking Yun Ye behind him as he walked.

“What do you need to prepare? Since you dare to do it, you’re not afraid of someone taking advantage of the situation to make trouble.” Yun Ye’s face was indifferent.

“You led more than 40 horsemen through the countryside, defying the law, which is a serious crime. Now you still don’t know how to repent, and I don’t know what kind of disputes there will be in the court.” Li Gang’s words were serious, but his face was calm and relaxed.

“If you were to handle this matter, what would you do?”

“Fifty years ago, I would have broken his legs. Forty years ago, I would have killed him. Thirty years ago, I would have had the government step in. Twenty years ago, I would have gone to Chen Shuda to argue. Now, I will let you handle this matter.” Old Li’s words drew laughter from the other three old gentlemen.

“Young people are most happy when they do things, and they don’t have to think about the consequences. People become more and more timid as they live longer. If you think about it, the decisions you made when you were young were not necessarily wrong. When you get old, you have to go around in circles, and in the end you still have to go back to the original point. Xiaoye’s actions are very much to my liking.” Mr. Yushan was afraid that the world would not be in chaos.

“It’s great to do things, but it’s not good to finish them. Uncle Chen Da’s complaint, you can’t escape the charge of assault. What happened to the old charcoal seller on your property? If I hadn’t been so excited that day and decided to take a walk alone, the old man’s life would be in danger.

“Hmph! A cartload of charcoal, more than a thousand catties, half a red silk and a red silk, tied to the ox’s head to fill the charcoal, this damned guy, the old man’s hard work for a winter, was taken by him, and he was beaten and injured, causing his family to lose their livelihood. Now they have no rice at home in the spring, and they are looking for death and life. I now regret not breaking both of his legs.” Yun Ye was still indignant.

“Huh? Boy, you have good writing skills. Those two sentences just now have some meaning.” Mr. Yuan Zhang likes sentences, but not pitying people.

“What’s there to worry about? A vicious merchant is running rampant in the village with the support of someone. What’s the big deal if Xiaoye breaks a leg? Uncle Chen Shuda will report it, and I estimate that the vicious merchant will probably not escape death.” Mr. Lishi is still stingy with words.

The four old men and the young man suddenly smiled at each other. Yun Ye shook his head. There are really stupid people in this world.

“Kid, I’m surprised that you didn’t use this excuse, but used the rude method of not giving you tea. Don’t tell me you can’t afford to lose that person,” Mr. Yushan asked curiously.

“You can see what happened to the merchant who got caught between me and Uncle Chen Shuda, and you’ll understand why I had to leave that old man’s family behind.”

Mr. Yushan nodded and said to him seriously, “I find myself liking you more and more.”

The other three gentlemen also looked very pleased.

It’s disgusting, this is Yun Ye’s evaluation in his heart.

The old lady was very worried about her grandson. The day before yesterday, her grandson took people to the Hu Village in front and smashed it to pieces, and also broke the leg of the head of the family. She didn’t know if there would be trouble, but it was a bit strange why her grandson gave the tea money to a farmer in his own village and didn’t allow anyone to ask.

Perhaps, the grandson was angry the other day, not because of the tea, but perhaps for something else. The grandson didn’t say, so she didn’t ask.

The old lady couldn’t figure it out for a while, and then looked at her two daughters, who were like two dumb geese, only knowing how to eat. She angrily twisted one of them, which made her feel a little better.

The Taiji Palace in the morning light was still magnificent and tall, but it was a bit strange to see it after not coming for a few months. Lao Cheng and Lao Niu were not in the ranks of the military officers. One of them went to Guyuan, and the other went to the clouds.

Qin Qiong looked worried, and Yuchi Gong patted Yun Ye nonchalantly, praising his feat the other day and saying that this was the way to behave in the military. He said that if it had been him, the merchant’s entire family would have been in the grave long ago.

No matter who it was, Yun Ye always greeted them with a smile, and there was no trace of guilt in his eyes. This made the nobles secretly sigh at the boldness of the young man. Since the “Zhen Guan Law” was issued, the Shandong aristocracy was demoted to third, the Li family was first, and the Empress’s family was second.

At this juncture, every family clenched their tails and behaved honestly, for fear of angering the emperor and bringing disaster to the family. Only this kid, acting recklessly, was heard to have gone to war over a few tea trees. More than forty riders were rampaging through the countryside, acting outrageously, and no one knew how the emperor would deal with him today.

When I think of this, I unconsciously move away from him.

The court was still bustling with activity, and the army was mobilizing in full force. It would arrive at its various assembly points in August of this year. The military machinery of the Great Tang Dynasty was in full operation, and the logistics, horses, weapons, and other matters were complicated.

The ministers relaxed a little, but then they saw Chen Shuda stand up and hold the official seal and say, “Your Majesty, on the afternoon of April 13, Lantian Marquis Yun Ye led more than 40 servants to invade the countryside. He claimed that Hu An, the owner of Hu Village, had not given him tea, so he took military weapons and broke into Hu Village and entered the mansion. like bandits, destroying homes, like robbers, Hu An resisted slightly, and his right leg was broken. The family was slightly dissatisfied and was humiliated. They also destroyed dozens of tea trees. It seems that such lawless people are in the same class as the court, and I am deeply ashamed of them. They are as incompatible as black and white.

“I accuse the Marquis of Lantian, Yun Ye, of running rampant in the countryside, acting without restraint, allowing his slaves to commit crimes, and treating the laws of the Great Tang as if they were nothing. Now that there are witnesses and physical evidence, I ask Your Majesty to order the authorities to bring him to justice.”

The court was very quiet. Chen Shuda’s words were clear and full of tears, which made people feel sympathy and pity.

It was strange that the emperor did not speak, nor did the prime minister, Fang Xuanling, close his eyes and remain silent. Du Ruxi, the minister of war, seemed to be thinking about something else, his mind absent. Even Wei Zheng, who was usually so hostile to evil, did not speak.

Chen Shuda felt a chill in his heart, and an ominous premonition rose from his heart. He didn’t understand why he felt this way.

Qin Qiong stopped thinking about going to the class and decided to wait and see. Before he left, Cheng Yaojin gave Yun Ye to him. If something happened, how could he give his life-long brother an explanation? Even if he risked his life today, he would protect this kid.

Yuchi Gong spoke up: “Your Majesty, the men in the army are all rough-tempered. When they encounter something, it is more enjoyable to act than to think. Please, Your Majesty, look at this kid’s minor achievements and his young age. A little discipline will be enough to teach him a lesson. What is said about the imperial decree is too much.”

Chen Shuda was shocked. If he let Yun Ye off lightly, he would not be able to survive in Chang’an. The various merchants who had attached themselves to his family would leave one after another. How could this be? It would be better to kill him than to live a poor life.

Just as he was about to speak, he heard the emperor say, “Kid, what are you holding back? Who are you planning to trick next? Chen Shuda? You guys don’t have any grudges from the past or any recent feuds, so why bother?”

As soon as the emperor spoke, Chen Shuda’s face turned ashen. This was not the tone of someone who was asking for punishment. This was clearly the tone of an elder teasing a junior. In this matter, there is always someone who is wrong. If Yun Ye is not wrong, then it is himself. Juan said that he and Yun Ye have never met, let alone grievances, but he just didn’t give him tea. Could it be that there is something in the middle that I don’t know?

The emperor, who was always so dignified, spoke in a flippant tone in the court, which surprised the ministers. Yun Ye was so favored by the emperor that they had to re-evaluate the status of the Yun family.

Yun Ye replied, “Your Majesty, I am a coarse person, and I have embarrassed you.”

“Crude? I don’t think so. I have a poem here that is concise and thought-provoking. Why don’t you let Minister Fang read it to everyone and gain some insight? It turns out that poetry can be written this way.”

Lao Fang slowly stood up, came to the center, bowed to the emperor, took a piece of paper out of his sleeve, coughed a few times, and then began to read it when his throat was comfortable.

“This poem is called ‘The Charcoal Vendor’. The charcoal vendor cuts wood and burns charcoal in the mountains. His face is covered in dust and smoke, his hair is gray and his fingers are black. What does he do with the money he makes selling charcoal? He buys clothes and food. He is poor and worried that the price of charcoal will fall and the weather will get colder. Last night, there was a foot of snow outside the city, and in the morning, he drove his cart over the ice. The oxen were tired and the man was hungry, and it was already high noon. Who are those two galloping riders? They are servants of the rich, dressed in black. They brandish their swords and threaten to kill. They turn the oxen around and drive them west. A cartload of charcoal, over a thousand catties, the rich servant drives the oxen, but they can’t bear to let go. A half-yard of red silk and a yard of white silk, tied to the oxen’s heads to make up for the charcoal.”

“What do you think? Isn’t it a good poem? Do you know that my heart ached when I first read this poem? Yun Ye has done what I intended to do. What do you think he should be punished for?”

Chen Shuda fell to the ground and begged the emperor to forgive him.

When Yun Ye heard this poem, he knew that something bad was going to happen. The court was fine, but the palace would be a big mess later.

Li Gang, Li Wenji, you have ruined me. This is Yun Ye’s heartfelt cry.