Chapter 1074: The Battle Between Two Kings

Let alone Duan Shao, who was extremely anxious in Shangdang, Yedu was not peaceful recently.

Changshan King Gao Yan stayed in Yedu and was originally only in charge of military affairs. However, under the advice of his younger brother Changguang King Gao Zhan, all Han ministers in the court were monitored, and naturally some of their powers were emptied.

Although the Northern Qi Dynasty was strong, it also needed to be based on political harmony and people's harmony in order to mobilize and exert its national strength. Although Gao Yan had participated in politics for many years, and Gao Zhan had begun to record Shangshu affairs and participate in government affairs in recent years, they were not real prime ministers after all.

For such a huge regime, the prime minister naturally had to deal with a lot of government affairs, and because Qi Lord Gao Yang had almost ignored government affairs in recent years, a large number of court affairs all needed to rely on Yang Yin, Gao Dezheng, Cui Xian and other Han ministers to share the work.

Now that the powers of these people have been greatly restricted, it is difficult for the brothers Gao Yan and Gao Zhan, who suddenly took over, to handle all the matters in a short time. The cases of the Shangshu Province are piling up more and more. Even if most of them are just trivial matters, as long as one important matter is buried, it will cause a huge obstacle to the current situation.

Although Gao Yan has recruited a large number of counselors and ministers in recent years, these people can make suggestions in the government, but it is impossible for them to follow him directly to the Shangshu Province to handle government affairs.

Especially for some orders that require the cooperation of prefectures and counties outside the capital, Gao Yan himself lacks influence on personnel in prefectures and counties, and now there are many obstacles in handling them.

There are many problems facing Gao Yan now, and there are several key and important matters.

First, as the season enters early summer, the rainfall in various parts of Hebei is seriously insufficient, and the drought in various places has become obvious. Even many powerful families around Ye City frequently fought over water for irrigation, and sometimes the scale even reached several thousand people, so the imperial army had to be sent to suppress it.

As the drought became more severe, all prefectures and counties also reported to the court, hoping to reduce some of the tax pressure and issue some relief decrees. Especially in Shandong Qingxu and other places, as the invasion of Southern Chen in Huainan became more and more intense, the military and civilians in the area became more and more uneasy, and many envoys were sent to Beijing to report, most of them complained and asked for help.

This series of unclear government affairs directly affected the collection and transportation of materials from all parties, and then had a very serious impact on the ongoing war.

If these things still need time and patience to be properly handled, then some things make Gao Yan a little crazy.

On this day, Gao Yan was still busy handling government affairs in the Shangshu Province, when suddenly a servant rushed in and told him that his subordinate Wang Xi was beaten and injured by the servants sent by Changguang Wang Gao Zhan in the city.

Gao Yan was furious when he learned about this. Gao Zhan had not been to the provincial government for several days because he was unwilling to go to Shangdang to lead the army. Gao Yan was busy with government affairs, so he sent Wang Xi and other officials to the Changguang Palace to persuade him. As a result, Gao Zhan not only did not listen to the persuasion, but also sent people to beat Wang Xi, which made things worse.

In a resentful mood, Gao Yan did not care about dealing with the government affairs in the province anymore. He directly asked the staff to prepare the carriage, and then left the imperial city and went straight to the Changguang Palace.

"Your servants greet the king!"

In front of the Changguang Palace, a group of officials saw the Changshan King's carriage coming here with great momentum, and hurried forward to greet him.

Gao Yan was furious. After getting off the car, he kicked several officials in front of the car and shouted angrily: "Get out of the way!"

Then he walked straight into the Changguang Palace, ignoring all the people who came to greet him. After not finding Gao Zhan in the front hall, he continued to walk towards the palace, shouting loudly as he walked: "Bu Luoji, get out of here quickly!"

At this time, Gao Zhan was playing the game of holding a spear with several servants in the inner room. When he heard his brother's shouting from outside, his face suddenly darkened and he frowned.

A thirty-something Hu waiter next to him observed his expression and whispered, "The King of Changshan is so arrogant. He is so rude when he comes to visit. Do you really think that the King is an ignorant boy who can be scolded?"

After hearing this, Gao Zhan's face became even more angry, but in a blink of an eye, he threw the gambling tools in his hand at the Hu man and laughed and scolded, "Hu'er, don't talk nonsense. He is my brother. What etiquette is required for him to enter my house!"

The Hu man's name is He Shikai. He is Gao Zhan's close and trusted confidant. After hearing this, he bowed his head and said, "Although the King is humble and polite, some people bully others by their age. If you keep giving in, you will only be mistaken for being weak and can be bullied!"

After hearing this, Gao Zhan sneered, and his body, which was about to get up, sat back again, and ordered the waiters to continue the game.

Gao Yan searched for a long time in the mansion before entering the room under the guidance of the servant. When he saw Gao Zhan still playing this game, he became even more angry. He stared at Gao Zhan and snorted coldly, "Dr. Wang, my disciple, did you get someone to hurt him?"

"Is this true? Why do you say that, brother? I have been recuperating at home for several days and have not been out. I have never seen Dr. Wang, let alone know that this happened. Did Dr. Wang offend someone else, but he wanted to alienate my brother's relationship and made a false accusation?"

After hearing this, Gao Zhan glared at him and said innocently, but he still didn't stand up and was still playing with the gambling tools in his hand.

Gao Yan glared at Gao Zhan for a moment, then turned his eyes to He Shikai and other waiters. Although He Shikai dared to stir up trouble behind his back, he didn't dare to be rude in front of Gao Yan. After glancing at the angry eyes, he hurriedly stood up with other waiters and bowed at Gao Yan's feet.

Gao Yan didn't say much, but drew out his sword, turned the back of the sword, and smashed He Shikai and other waiters in front of Gao Zhan, making them scream and run away. Gao Zhan also stood up after seeing this, and looked at Gao Yan beating his subordinates with a gloomy face, but didn't say a word.

Gao Yan used his saber to beat He Shikai and others dozens of times in succession. They were all red, swollen and bloody, and looked extremely miserable. Gao Zhan finally couldn't help but say, "Wang Shulang and others have bad intentions. They told you evil words and wanted to drive me out of the capital. I punished them for this!"

"Haven't I told you clearly? King Pingyuan has repeatedly asked the court to let you go to command the troops on his behalf. What does it have to do with Dr. Wang and others? The country is in crisis and everything is urgent. We need to work together. You were born into this family and enjoy wealth and glory. When you shrink when encountering difficulties, don't you fear the ridicule of the times!"

Gao Yan heard Gao Zhan admit it, then he put away his saber and looked at Gao Zhan and shouted angrily.

"I am the youngest among my brothers, and I have no experience or prestige in commanding a large army. Is it a normal and safe way to use people to suddenly increase the responsibility and face a strong enemy?"

After hearing this, Gao Zhan said, "If I can deter the armies with my background, who can't be used, King Pingyang or King Pengcheng? At present, Yedu is busy, and it is difficult for my brother to handle it. Wouldn't it be better to leave me in the province to work as a consul! But my brother, you have repeatedly wanted me to go out. Is it King Pingyuan's suggestion, or do you, you don't want me to stay in the capital?"

"King Pingyang is timid and weak, without the prestige of a general, how can he be used as a commander of the army! As for King Pengcheng, don't you know what King Pengcheng is doing? Using him as a commander of the army at this time is simply nonsense!"

After hearing this, Gao Yan couldn't help but scold. Although he had many brothers, there were few who could take charge of the matter at the moment. King Yong'an Gao Jun and King Shangdang Gao Huan were now imprisoned in Jinyang. Pingyang Wang Gao Yan is kind and weak, and Pengcheng Wang Gao Yu has just lost his mother, so they are not suitable to go to Shangdang to command the army.

Now, the only one who is older and a direct brother left in Yedu is Gao Zhan. But this kid was very organized when talking about military affairs before, but when he was really asked to take charge of the army, he was too timid to agree, and he also made many excuses.

Gao Yan didn't have the patience to reason with Gao Zhan at this moment, and pointed at him and said angrily: "I have been ordered to stay and deal with the military affairs of the capital. If you still disobey my order, don't blame me for sending someone to take you to Jinyang and hand you over to the Supreme to be punished!"

After hearing this, Gao Zhan's face suddenly flashed with fear. He turned his eyes, waved his hand to block all the subordinates in the room, and then stared at Gao Yan and said in a deep voice: "Brother, are you really so cruel that you don't allow me to stay in the capital to share your power? I also sent someone to visit Xu Zhicai. !"

"What nonsense are you talking about!"

Gao Yan's face suddenly changed after hearing the sound, and he drew his knife again and put it on Gao Zhan's neck and roared angrily: "What do you know? What do you want?"

"I don't know anything, I just want to do my best to help you deal with the current important tasks. Leading the army to fight is not my forte, but staying in the capital to pick up the gaps and contact personnel for you, brother, is what I am capable of. "

Gao Zhan didn't care about the sharp knife on his neck at all, just looked at Gao Yan with a cold expression and smiled. If he had doubts before, then now after seeing Gao Yan's reaction, he was basically sure that his brother really wanted to take the opportunity to send him out of the capital.

Gao Yan glared at Gao Zhan for a long time before putting away his sword again. He sat down somewhat dejectedly and sighed, "The Supreme is ill, it is not a minor illness, and the duration is unpredictable. But the country is in danger again, which makes people feel uneasy. Although I am in charge of the capital affairs temporarily, I am afraid that I will encounter some unpredictable variables.

I don't want brothers to be in danger together, so I want you to go out of the capital to take charge of the army, so that you can take charge of the inside and outside. But I didn't expect that it would cause such a misunderstanding in your heart. This is also because I was not thoughtful enough and did not tell you the confidential matters in advance. This incident is enough to serve as a warning. You and I brothers should communicate in time when we have something to plan in the future, and don't think about it privately and cause misunderstandings again!"

After hearing this, Gao Zhan nodded repeatedly and said, "Of course, my brother and I are close relatives. If there is any misunderstanding between us, it will only make the relatives sad and the enemies happy!"