At night, in the main room of Lu Heng's mansion.
Yang Gao, Liu Bowen and Lu Heng sat in order of priority. Lu Heng presented an account book in his hand to Yang Gao: "Your Majesty, this is the account book found by the ministers after searching Yang Xi's mansion. It records the money Yang Xi has gained from corruption over the past year and the money he used to bribe his superiors. expenditure."
Yang Gao took the account book and looked through it roughly. His face suddenly turned livid, and he smashed the account book on the ground angrily: "A small county magistrate dares to embezzle tens of thousands of taels of silver. It's really big." What a coward! Send a decree and immediately behead this thief in public, and confiscate all his property!"
Lu Heng cupped his hands and said in a deep voice, "I will obey the Holy Orders!"
After a pause, Yang Gao suddenly remembered something again and asked Lu Heng: "Lu Aiqing, if I remember correctly, you should be one of the candidates for the post of Dingtao County Magistrate among the list of officials sent by the Ministry of Personnel to take office in the Central Plains. Why was he demoted one level and became county magistrate?"
Lu Heng replied hurriedly: "Your Majesty, when I went to the Central Plains, I was indeed the candidate for the post of Dingtao County Magistrate. However, when Lord Xiao Yu went to Xingyang County to visit the Zheng family, he accidentally met Yang Xi, the original Dingtao County Magistrate. On the recommendation of the head of the Zheng family, it was decided that Yang Xi would serve as the county magistrate, and Wei Chen would serve as the county magistrate. Master Xiao Yu should have written to the Ministry of Civil Affairs to report this matter, maybe because your majesty was busy with state affairs, he did not pay attention."
Yang Gao nodded when he heard this. The transfer of a county magistrate and county magistrate would indeed not attract his attention, but didn't Xiao Yu always pride himself on being upright? How could he allow a corrupt official like Yang Xi to return to office?
Liu Bowen on the side seemed to see through Yang Gao's thoughts. He leaned close to Yang Gao and whispered: "Your Majesty, although Master Xiao Yu is upright, he is from Xiaoliang noble family after all. Perhaps in his heart, the son-in-law of the Zheng family in Xingyang is more important than the son-in-law of the Zheng family in Xingyang who comes from a poor family. Moreover, Mr. Lu Heng, who has a poor appearance, is more suitable to be a county magistrate. Moreover, Yang Xi has been recommended by the Zheng family in Xingyang. I am afraid that Mr. Xiao Yu has not carefully examined his virtue? "
When Yang Gao heard this, he immediately became angry. Nobles from aristocratic families, children of high-ranking families, five surnames and seven hopes, these cliche things again!
Since Yang Gao came to this world, he has heard people mention this countless times. But it wasn't until today that he truly realized the horror of the so-called aristocratic family. Even Xiao Yu, who prided himself on being upright and upright, would sell a few favors when he met a noble from the aristocratic family.
Although Li Yuan, Li Shimin, and Temujin are powerful and powerful, in the final analysis they are still enemies on the surface. However, these aristocratic families are always hiding in secret, secretly developing their strength without you knowing it, and leveraging your foundation. Such enemies are the most terrifying.
Thinking of this, Yang Gao couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, and quickly turned to ask Lu Heng: "Lu Aiqing, I ask you, apart from you, does Prime Minister Xiao Yu have any other similar personnel adjustments?"
Lu Heng lowered his head and recalled for a while, then replied: "Your Majesty, as far as I know, there should be two other people who were demoted like me and became county magistrates or county lieutenants. There is also a person named Zheng Kuan, who was originally a county magistrate. He was an alternate county magistrate, but for some reason he ended up as the chief historian of Jiyin County."
"Zheng Kuan? Is he from the Zheng family?"
Yang Gao stared at Lu Heng with his eyes, and the anger in his chest was getting stronger and stronger.
Lu Heng was stared at by Yang Gao and his scalp was numb, so he whispered: "Back to Your Majesty, I stayed overnight at Zheng's house in Xingyang with Mr. Xiao Yu that day. I once heard Zheng Kuan calling the man who entertained us uncle."
"Why!"
After hearing this, Yang Gao let out a long sigh, slumped on the chair like a deflated rubber ball, and said to Liu Bowen: "Bowen, this uncle of mine has really disappointed me!"
Liu Bowen cupped his hands and said calmly: "Your Majesty, Lord Xiao Yu is probably doing this to win over the Zheng family in Xingyang for your Majesty to consolidate your Majesty's rule in the Central Plains."
"Of course I know that my uncle is doing it for my own good, but has he forgotten who contributed to the chaos that has led to the current situation in the Sui Dynasty? My father has weakened these aristocratic families to what they are today at all costs. My uncle actually wants to help them regain their strength, this is simply the biggest joke in the world."
Yang Gao closed his eyes slightly, shook his head and said: "In the final analysis, it is the character of the aristocratic family in his bones that is causing trouble. He looks down on the children of poor families, looks down on the common people in the world, and thinks that only wealthy families are qualified to be in the temple."
Liu Bowen had already heard the meaning of Yang Gao's words and asked cautiously: "I wonder what your Highness plans to do with Mr. Xiao Yu?"
"My father even sacrificed his own life in order to weaken the family. If I keep him in the court as prime minister, how can I have the face to see my father in the future?"
Yang Gao slowly opened his eyes as he spoke, and sighed: "But after all, he is my uncle, and his sister is my mother, my queen mother in the Sui Dynasty. If I remove him from office, not only will his dignity be ruined, , my face will be dull!"
Liu Bowen frowned slightly, shook his feather fan quickly a few times, and an idea suddenly came to his mind: "Your Majesty, in the opinion of the minister, why not promote Xiao Xiangguo to the rank of Taifu based on his meritorious service in inspecting the Central Plains, so as to eliminate the need for him to do so?" The most powerful position of Duzhi Shangshu may be able to save the face of Xiao Xiangguo and His Majesty."
Up and down, this is indeed the best choice at the moment.
Yang Gao nodded and said: "This should be the best way at the moment, but it's a pity that my uncle's talent has been ruined because of the different ways."
After a pause, Yang Gao curled up the corner of his mouth and sneered: "The Zheng family in Xingyang is quite capable. My uncle is also a smart man. I didn't expect that he would be persuaded. Humph, I still want to be above the court like before. Come on, you're dreaming! Draft a decree to appoint Yu Yunwen as governor of the Central Plains and inspect the performance of officials at all levels. In addition, Shi Zhengkuan, the governor of Jiyin County, is immediately dismissed and demoted to a commoner!"
Lu Heng was shocked when he heard this and spoke out to dissuade him: "Your Majesty, if you dismiss a long history officer for no reason, will this cause dissatisfaction among other colleagues?"
"For no reason?"
Yang Gao snorted coldly when he heard this, picked up the account book on the table and said: "Lu Aiqing, you have written many times to report Yang Xi, but the Yushitai has never received your letter. If there is no Zheng Kuan's name in it, I will From now on, my last name will be written backwards."
Liu Bowen smiled slightly: "Destroying a person's career is like killing his parents. I'm afraid that after this incident, Your Majesty will become the sworn enemy of the Zheng family in Xingyang. I don't know how much trouble they will make!"
Yang Gao smiled coldly: "I hope they make more noise, which will give me a reason to eradicate them in one fell swoop. Send an order to Zhan Zhao and Ouyang Chun, ordering them to use all the Jinyiwei forces in Xingyang to fight without interruption at twelve hours a day. Monitor every move of the Zheng family."
