Xie Wenju did not expect Xiao Yu to make a decision so quickly, and was shocked and said: "My lord, think again! Your Majesty wants to let Fang Jun serve as the general manager of the Canghaidao March. It is obvious that he will be responsible for the logistical supplies of the Eastern Expedition by sea. , In this way, Jiangnan will become the logistics base for the entire Eastern Expedition, wouldn’t we Jiangnan elders be miserable?”
Fang Jun's general manager will obviously command the Tang Dynasty Navy and be responsible for the supply of the entire army during the Eastern Expedition. After all, the convenience of sea transportation is much superior to that of land transportation. The quantity of transportation can be larger and the speed can be faster. Losses can be smaller.
In terms of geographical location, Donglai is the closest to the sea.
But the shortcomings of this choice are also obvious.
In the seventh year of Daye, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty issued an edict to conquer Goguryeo and ordered Yuan Hongsi, the general manager of Youzhou, to build 300 ships at Donglai Haikou and use it as a base for the navy. It turned out to be not a wise decision.
When conquering cities and conquering enemy countries, the navy cannot be the main force and can only be responsible for the transportation of heavy troops.
Donglai is located in the easternmost part of Shandong, and the roads are difficult to travel. Even if the Tongji Canal is dug to connect the Yellow River and the Huaihe River, the grain and grass baggage collected from Jiangnan and other places will be difficult to transport and suffer serious losses. There were hundreds of thousands of civilians and soldiers who had been traveling on the road for a long time. They crowded the road day and night. The dead were sleeping among each other, the road was full of stench, and the world was in commotion.
So why didn't Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty collect supplies nearby in the south of the Yangtze River, and then go to sea in the Jianghuai area and reach Goguryeo?
The reason is very simple. It's not that Emperor Sui Yang didn't think so, but that he couldn't deal with the Jiangnan nobles!
The reason why Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was able to defeat Prince Yang Yong and finally ascend to the throne of Dabao and achieve the throne was because of the support from the Jiangnan nobles, who were in conflict with the Guanlong nobles. After the Jiangnan nobles spent a lot of wealth and resources to help Emperor Sui Yang ascend to the throne, how could they use their own wealth to support Emperor Sui Yang in the war when they were reaping "investment" profits with red eyes?
Not only that, when Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty had to flee to the south of the Yangtze River when the Guanlong nobles became more and more powerful, hoping to get the support of the Jiangnan nobles to stabilize the court and suppress the opponents, he was stabbed in the back by the Jiangnan nobles. …
The Sui Dynasty, which was at its peak for a while, fell into oblivion after its second generation.
Never mind the national interests, for these Jiangnan nobles, the interests of the family are above all else!
Now the emperor wants to complete what Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty failed to accomplish, and uses Jiangnan as the logistics base for the Eastern Expedition. Doesn't this mean that these Jiangnan nobles have to cut their flesh? And Xiao Yu actually supported the emperor...
Xie Wenju couldn't understand.
In his opinion, as long as the Jiangnan nobles could unite as one, even the emperor would not dare to force himself. Emperor Sui Yang was such a domineering person, why couldn't he just look at Jiangnan and not dare to take a bite?
After hundreds of years of operation, Jiangnan has long been monolithic. Even if the emperor wants to force himself, he has to be careful of the counterattack of the Jiangnan nobles. They don't dare to rebel, but it is still very easy to cause turmoil, at least for those walking among the mountains. Flirting can bring huge trouble to the emperor with just a little provocation...
No matter how tough the emperor is, he still has to take action.
Xiao Yu smiled bitterly, looked at this young man who was known as the best among the Jiangnan gentry, and shook his head.
The vision is still not far enough...
He only saw his own strength, but failed to see that His Majesty had already made several moves towards this end. Knowing oneself but not knowing the enemy was a precursor to failure.
Although he was a little disappointed in his heart, he still had to give some advice. He did not want to see the Jiangnan noble clan split in the future and the whole Jiangnan be in chaos.
"In the past, our gentry controlled the south of the Yangtze River. From officials and wealthy businessmen to traders and pawns, everyone looked up to the gentry. Why is this?" Xiao Yu asked.
Xie Wenju was stunned for a moment, thought for a moment, and said, "It's because everyone is under the control of the gentry. If you want to gain wealth, be promoted to an official position, or even have a stable farm, you must get the support of the gentry."
Xiao Yu nodded, and then sighed helplessly: "But from now on, it will be different..."
Xie Wenju was confused.
Seeing that he still looked confused, Xiao Yu was very disappointed and didn't bother to say anything more. He just said lightly: "Imperial examination! All poor people can pass the imperial examination and become officials as long as they can read and write! Ruomou's prediction is not bad. In this year's imperial examination, the admission rate of scholars from poor families must be extremely high, even though most of the scholars from poor families are far less knowledgeable than those from noble families! Your Majesty wants to support the scholars from poor families to fight against the wealthy families! Poor families and noble families, They are natural enemies in the first place, and their interests are naturally in conflict. Just imagine, when the officials in Jiangnan are no longer elected by the gentry, but are obtained through the imperial examination, what attitude will those poor scholars who have risen to the top have towards the gentry? "
Xie Wenju finally understood and took a deep breath!
He said in shock: "It must be suppressed in every possible way!"
As Xiao Yu said, the poor family and the noble family are naturally on opposite sides, and their interests are in fundamental conflict.
The imperial examination is about to become a national policy, and the rise of scholars from poor families is unstoppable.
In other words, Jiangnan controlled by the nobles will eventually become history...
Xiao Yu felt a little sad. Even though he was reluctant in every way, he had to follow the trend. The result of using the mantis' arm as a chariot can only be broken into pieces...
"The Xiao family has already decided. As for the other families, please ask my nephew to inform you in detail. How to choose and where to go will naturally follow the wishes of each family. I just need to help someone convey a word."
Xie Wenju said respectfully: "My nephew, please tell me about my nephew's duties."
Xiao Yu said slowly with a hint of sadness: "The general trend of the world cannot be changed by human power. Those who gain the time will prosper, and those who lose the time will perish. Act accordingly. Take care of yourself..."
*****
"Those who gain time prosper, and those who lose time perish. If the Jiangnan nobles cannot see clearly the general trend, they may be swept away and defeated by this turbulent wave, and their thousands of years of foundation will be destroyed in one day."
Fang Xuanling held the tea cup in her hand, full of emotion.
Wearing light-colored regular clothes, he was sitting on the Taishi chair, leisurely and contented.
He seemed not to care about the danger his son encountered in the Tai Chi Hall...
Fang Jun couldn't help but complain: "It's easy for you to say. A saint cannot be in time, and when the time comes, he cannot miss it. Who can accurately recognize the current situation and seize the current situation accurately?"
Fang Xuanling wondered: "Oh, you actually read "Warring States Policy"? This is not easy!"
Fang Jun's face was dark and slightly red, and he was a little dissatisfied: "My son is also open-minded and eager to learn, right? You said that he seems to be ignorant and incompetent."
Fang Xuanling asked, "Isn't it?"
Fang Jun was speechless...
The two men teased each other for a few words, then fell silent.
After taking a sip of tea, Fang Xuanling sighed: "The land in the south of the Yangtze River is fertile and the climate is suitable. In recent years, wars have reduced, the situation is stable, and strong potential has become more and more explosive. Both wealth and food have increased rapidly, and there has gradually been Catch up with the power of Guanzhong. With such importance, how could Your Majesty let the Jiangnan nobles control it and be outside of His Majesty's control? Those Jiangnan nobles were blinded by interests and thought they had blocked Emperor Sui Yang from reaching out. Jiang Nan’s hand can stop His Majesty today, how naive he is.”
When Yang Jian usurped the Zhou Dynasty and established the Sui Dynasty, all the northern lands were included in the territory of the Sui Dynasty, forming a confrontation between the north and the south with the Chen Dynasty in the south of the Yangtze River. When the Sui army went south, the Southern Chen Emperor Chen Shubao relied on the natural dangers of the Yangtze River and did not take it seriously. In the third year of the Zhenming Dynasty, the Sui soldiers crossed the river and entered an uninhabited country. Guard the generals along the river, watching for the wind to go away.
The Sui army invaded Jiankang and Chen Shubao was captured.
As Jianjian was captured and Nanchen was destroyed, the Jiangnan gentry responded quickly and submitted to the Sui Dynasty, and Yang Jian unified the world.
Due to the rapid destruction of Nanchen, the Jiangnan nobles were not affected and their strength was preserved.
By the time Yang Guang succeeded to the throne and wanted to conquer the Jiangnan nobles, the Guanlong Group had already risen and the Shandong family was gradually prospering. Yang Guang had to rely on the Jiangnan nobles to contain each other. How could he dare to deal with the Jiangnan nobles heavily?
It’s too late to win over!
What's ridiculous is that today's Jiangnan nobles still think that the situation is the same as before. Even if the emperor is changed from Yang Guang to His Majesty Li Er, they don't dare to take the risk of Jiangnan's turmoil.
Fang Jun and his father came to the same conclusion, but he looked at the problem from a completely different perspective.
"The centralization of power in the empire is getting stronger and stronger. All the aristocratic families are stumbling blocks to the centralization of the empire. No matter which emperor is in power, the aristocratic families must crack down severely. The stronger the empire, the weaker the aristocratic families are. It can be said that the aristocratic families are The history of China is coming to an end..."
