Chapter 378: Urgent Opposition

Xiao Xia stayed in Huangshui County for only two days before returning. At the same time, Xiping County, Jincheng County and Wuwei County began to build fifty beacon towers from Huangshui County to Guzang County.

This was not a recent decision; it had been planned for a long time. It was just that the local government was slow in doing things. During Xiao Xia’s inspection tour in Longyou, he put pressure on the government, demanding that they repair the beacons on their respective road sections before the heavy snow blocked the roads.

The beacon towers were built very quickly. Instead of building one after another, fifty beacon towers were built at the same time. It only took half a month to complete, but it was too late to deploy the soldiers, so they had to wait until tomorrow when spring came.

Soon, the first heavy snow swept across Hexi and Longyou. The cold wind brought dense snow balls down. The heavy snow fell for two days, and the whole world turned into a gray expanse.

The snow finally stopped, and Guzang County turned into a world of ice and snow covered in silver. A long line soon formed in front of a shop in front of the county government office. This was the official store that sold the Sanzhen Cakes.

When the Sanzhen Cake first appeared on the market, everyone was a little disgusted and laughed at it. However, the severe cold weather taught the people a lesson. Instead of the whole family huddling together and shivering in the cold, it would be better to be realistic and warm themselves by a fire. What’s more, the army used it, so why couldn’t they use it too?

The Sanzhen cakes, which cost three cents each, were selling like hot cakes. Every household carried a bag full of them back home. The next morning, more people lined up to buy the Sanzhen cakes.

After many people went back and used it, they found that it did not have the odor they had imagined, but instead had a light grassy scent or even a milky scent.

These people suddenly woke up from their dreams and rushed to buy the products the next day.

In addition, Xiao Xia ordered the county governments in various places to send the Three Treasures Cake to the orphanages for the elderly. Every year, it was almost always these elderly widows who could not survive the winter.

Of course, the Sanzhen Cakes were only used by the lower-class people. The middle and upper-class people continued to use wood and charcoal. This was inevitable. If they were not short of money, no one would be willing to use livestock manure to survive the winter.

Just like even if you have millions in savings, you wouldn’t wear a shabby cotton-padded jacket through the winter.

In winter, each dan of charcoal costs about four to five hundred coins, and each dan of firewood costs a hundred coins. It is not that charcoal and firewood can be used for a long time. Once you use them, you will find that they will be used up within a few days of purchase.

So the upper class people used charcoal for heating, the middle class people used firewood for heating, and the lower class people used grass for heating. Now the grass has been replaced by Sanzhen cakes, and the lower class people can now compete with the middle class people.

The Prince of Chu’s mansion was also covered with snow, and the pond was covered with thick ice. Xiao Xia brought back more than a dozen pairs of ice skates, and the whole family enjoyed the fun of ice skating.

The ten-acre ice surface is about the size of a football field, and one can skate on the lake to one’s heart’s content. Xiao Xia and his wife Cui Yu sat on the lake-viewing building. The brazier was burning brightly, and the room was as warm as spring. The two stood on the terrace and drank hot tea while looking at the ice below.

On the ice, Cui Mei danced like a butterfly, skating very smoothly. Xiao Qing and A Chu supported each other and half-slid and half-walked on the ice awkwardly. It was their first time skating and they were still in the learning stage.

“Xiao Xia is very skilled!”

“She could skate when she was five years old. There was a three-acre pond in my uncle’s house. It would freeze every winter, and we young ladies would go there to play. Xiaomei was the smartest and could learn quickly. She was the best skater in our Cui family. None of the young men could skate better than her.

“Can you skate?” Xiao Xia asked with a smile.

Cui Yu smiled and said, “I can skate a little bit, but I can’t do any fancy moves. What about my husband?”

Xiao Xia shook his head, “Not really!”

Xiao Xia only knows how to roller skate, he has never skated on real ice, I don’t know if it’s the same thing. Cui Yu smiled, “Husband, let me teach you!”

Xiao Xia happily said: “Then give it a try!”

The two put on thick coats, winter hats and gloves and went downstairs together.

Putting on ice skates on the stone, Cui Yu gently pulled her husband into the ice lake. Cui Yu said that she only knew how to skate a little, but in fact she was very light, like a fairy.

Xiao Xia was a little clumsy. He bent over, trying to control his body balance and glided slowly on the ice.

At this time, Cui Mei giggled and walked forward, holding Xiao Xia’s other hand. The two sisters each held one hand and skated on the ice.

Gradually, Xiao Xia adapted to the balance, let go of the two sisters, and began to skate independently on the ice. Many maids and servants also came up, and there was laughter on the ice.

Chang’an, a disturbing rumor spread wildly in the streets and alleys of Chang’an that the emperor was going to move the capital to Luoyang.

In fact, this news had been rumored a few months ago, but at that time, it was only circulated in a small circle among senior officials. Now it is known to the whole court.

The reason is very simple. Before, Yuwen Kai built the imperial palace on a small scale, which can be said to be the renovation of the East Palace. But now he is going to start building the Eastern Capital on a large scale, and this secret can no longer be kept hidden.

A wave of opposition also emerged. There were three main groups of opponents. The first was the Guanlong nobles. They believed that moving the capital to Luoyang was simply cutting off their roots. They also knew that moving the capital to Luoyang was to deal with them.

The second largest opposition group is the interest-related group, such as Xue Shixiong, Shi Wansui, Yu Qingze and many Guanlong families, including Wei, Yang, Su, Du and other Guanlong families. They have a lot of assets and complex interests in Chang’an. Once the capital is moved, their wealth will shrink significantly.

The third largest opposition group was the frugality faction, represented by Prime Minister Gao Jiong and Yang Xiong. They believed that building the Eastern Capital would consume a lot of manpower, material resources and financial resources, which would seriously weaken the strength of the Sui Dynasty. They also had a firm attitude and kept persuading the emperor.

At night, dozens of representatives from various Guanlong nobles gathered in Dugu’s mansion in Guanglufang, Chang’an. Except for the royal Yang family, representatives from other families were present, basically the leading figures of each family.

Dozens of people were sitting in the spacious main hall. In front of them were the tablets of the founders of various families in Guanlong. There were twenty couches on each side. The person sitting in the first seat on the right was the initiator of this gathering, Dugu Tuo, the head of the Dugu family.

The first one sitting opposite was the great general Yuan Yuanshou. The Dugu family and the Yuan family had always been the leaders of the Guanlong nobles, including the Dugu family, the Yuan family, the Dou family, the two Li families, the Zhao family, the Yu family, the Houmochen family, the Dayi family, the Doulu family, the Yuwen family, the Heruo family, the Changsun family, the Liu family, and so on.

“Everyone, the emperor is preparing to move the capital to Luoyang. It is no longer a rumor, but a certainty, and it is urgent. The construction of Luoyang must be completed this year, and the move will begin at the beginning of next year. As for what he said, it is not moving the capital, but just visiting the Eastern Capital. This is just another way of saying it. Moving the Imperial Ancestral Temple and the Imperial Court there, what else is this but moving the capital?
Why do we have to move the capital? To put it bluntly, it is to weaken us and completely separate the Sui Yang Dynasty from the Guanlong nobles. The Yang family has forgotten their roots. They have forgotten that Yang Jian was the emperor we elected. Look at what Yang Jian did after he ascended the throne?
They abolished the Nine-Rank System, implemented the Imperial Examination System, abolished the Military Force System, and turned the palace soldiers into imperial guards. Both civil and military, they were aimed at us. They wanted to separate us from the decision-making circle of the court and turn the world that belonged to the Guanlong nobles into the world of the Yang family.

We have tolerated all this, but the new emperor has not restrained himself since he ascended the throne. Instead, he has intensified the situation. He has expanded the number of prime ministers to seven, none of whom are from the Guanlong nobility. None of the generals are our children. Now they are even moving the capital. This is simply digging up our roots. Ladies and gentlemen, this is intolerable!”

“Master, just tell me! What should we do?”

“Of course we have to launch a joint letter to strongly oppose the relocation of the capital. This is a top priority. We must let the emperor see our clear attitude. As for other things, we can talk about it later!”

An initiative letter opposing the relocation of the capital had been drafted, and representatives from various parties came forward to sign it one by one, firmly opposing the relocation of the capital to Luoyang.

(End of this chapter)