"You said the army is the first drawback, then what is the second one?" Yang Ji's performance surprised and delighted Yang Jian. It was indeed a blessing for the Sui Dynasty to have such a clear-minded son in the royal family. It also tested and cultivated his mind. It became more urgent.
"After the army controlled by the Guanlong nobles, politics was naturally controlled by the gentry." Yang Ji said with a wry smile: "The gentry was sown in the Shang and Zhou dynasties, sprouted in the Han Dynasty, grew up in the nine-level Zhongzheng system of Cao Wei, and flourished in the Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties. Today, it has become luxuriant and deeply rooted. Family, country and world are the rules for the conduct of nobles. Family is the most important, followed by fellow villagers, and the country is the third. Only under these three preconditions can they consider sharing the worries of the king. Since family is the most important, then When exercising power at the local level, it is natural to favor one's own family, relatives and friends, and when recommending talents and selecting officials, one also favors one's own people. This not only harms the interests of local people, but also blocks the opportunity for poor people without backing to become officials. In the end, when a few talented men climbed out, they were in a dilemma of no hope of promotion. They had to either serve as low-level officials for the rest of their lives, or join various noble families, become their wings, and become advocates of their supremacy. If they were members of a noble family, They are connected together, and they deceive the superiors and deceive the subordinates. The imperial decrees cannot leave the capital, and the uncle cannot see the real world."
"This is why I worry that I have devoted all my efforts to run a school, but the strong power of the gentry forced me to abandon school. Just because I established the country in the Sui Dynasty, I cannot afford to offend the military, martial, Guanlong, Shiwen, Shandong, and southern gentry at the same time. ." Yang Jian sighed: "Not to mention the old enemy countries such as Nanchen and Northern Qi, even the land of Guanzhong has no people's hearts. We can only wait for the people of the world to voluntarily regard themselves as citizens of the Sui Dynasty, be proud of the Sui Dynasty, and have the Sui Dynasty with the support of the people. Only then can we further reform the system. Ah, you must not be eager for quick success or quick success in the future, otherwise you will not be able to please everyone!"
Yang Guang nodded and said, "My child understands."
"Vajra Slave. Your concept of hiding wealth among the people is very good, and it also woke me up from my false dream." At this time, Yang Jian felt ashamed and pleased and said to Yang Ji: "It's quite embarrassing to say it. I used to I was very complacent when I saw that the imperial palace was overflowing and the millet was rotting. But your "hiding wealth among the people" made me wake up. It's just because in our Sui Dynasty, there are still many people who don't have enough to eat. Since there are still people who don't have enough to eat. , if you don’t have warm clothes, then this false wealth is naturally meaningless and has nothing to show off.”
"Perhaps the same was true of Wenjing's rule." Yang Ji listened in awe, but for a moment he didn't know how to comfort this great old man, so he had to say to Yang Guang: "What do you think? Brother."
Yang Guang nodded and said: "I think so. Otherwise, the powerful Han Dynasty would not have been beaten by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in such a short period of time until the sea was empty and the people were in dire straits."
"Then have you used war to consume the troops controlled by the Guanlong nobles?" Yang Ji was very curious about this and continued to stare at Yang Guang and said: "For example, in the name of opening up the Silk Road, you annihilated Tuyuhun and conquered the Western Regions; On the pretext of being restless, they attack the Qiang, Turks, Xi, Khitan, Lin, Northern and Southern Shiwei, Mohe, Goguryeo... As long as the surrounding enemies are exaggerated to be extremely vicious and intent on destroying the Sui Dynasty, with such righteousness in hand, those who The Guanlong nobles don’t dare to object, right?”
As soon as Yang Ji finished speaking, Yang Guang stood up with a "hoo" and stared at Yang Ji with an incredible look in his eyes.
This method is much more clever than him leading the descendants of the Six Towns from the old Northern Qi Dynasty to attack the Guanlong nobles. If you really want to do this, you can not only expand your territory, but also eliminate internal conflicts and foreign enemies, and make Yang Guanggong more powerful than the Qin Emperor and the Han Dynasty.
He excitedly saluted Yang Jian and said, "Father, Vajra Slave is a good idea."
"That's not bad! If the Guanlong nobles were so stupid, I would have cleaned them up a long time ago. How could we wait until now?" Yang Jian looked at Yang Ji and said with a smile: "You are full of evil, so I don't want you to kill Ai." If you lead a bad person, I will give you an official job."
"Father, what you said is weird..." Yang Guang was ashamed.
"Isn't it?" Yang Jian snorted coldly.
Yang Guang didn't dare to speak.
"Uncle, I don't know how to be an official, and I don't want to be an official." Yang Ji said, "If you force the arrangement, I will show you that I am a corrupt official."
Yang Jian said with a smile: "You are right to think so. How can an official be non-corrupt? The key is to be greedy for too much or too little."
"Then were you greedy before?" Yang Ji looked at Yang Jian in disbelief. This shouldn't be said by an emperor, right? Shouldn’t the emperor hate corrupt officials?
"Of course I'm greedy." Yang Jian said cheerfully: "If I weren't greedy, why would it be your turn to be the King of Guards?"
"..." Yang Ji could not deny, and even deeply agreed. Thieves like Yang Jian who seek the country are rare throughout the ages; if the simple and easy way of usurping the country is also included, then there is only one Zhao Kuangyin who can compare with him.
"But I am not greedy for the money of the common people and soldiers. It's just because these two kinds of people are very poor. If you are greedy for their money, you will end up with less money, offend many people, and even violate the laws of the court, so the poor You must not be greedy for money." Yang Jian said with a smile: "What I used to be greedy for was the money sent to me by wealthy families. This money is plentiful and not hot. If you don't want it, others will not feel safe and secure. If you accept this money, others will be grateful. It sounds like those people are being mean, but this is the complicated human heart. And because you accepted this money, you will have more friends, a wider road, and things will go smoothly. In the end, I made money and gained a reputation.”
Yang Ji was a little unsure of Yang Jian's thoughts at this moment and asked, "Aren't you afraid that they will harm the people in turn?"
"It only takes three!" Yang Jian said: "The first time is to persuade them as a friend and let them return to the people; if they do it again, they will break off the relationship, and the third time they will use the sword of power to severely punish them."
"You mean you don't get anything for nothing?" Yang Ji understood that the so-called greed was actually accepting gifts from local wealthy families. These people usually bring trouble to the folks in their hometowns, and are afraid that the new officials will mess with them, so they give them gifts as hard as they can. And every official needs to rely on these "gentry" to achieve some political achievements in the local area, so they often turn a blind eye. Close one eye.
This is an officialdom rule that has been practiced by the ancients and has been followed since. It is commonly known as mutual worship at the dock. However, officials occupy the majority of the court, so they are on the active side.
But as Yang Jian said, if you don't accept gifts from others and don't let go of the local gentry's wariness, what can you do locally alone?
"That's it." Yang Jian saw that Yang Ji had some realization and said, "The money and food provided by the imperial court to help the people can be traced. As long as I make up my mind to investigate, I can make those corrupt officials have nowhere to escape, so the only way is to find out." Only low-level corrupt officials are greedy for money. It’s different if you accept gifts from powerful people. If you get a lot, you won’t offend anyone, and you won’t be afraid of committing crimes. Do you understand?”
Yang Ji nodded: "I understand, but I have endless money and am very satisfied with my current life, so why should I be an official who violates my principles? Rather than being an official like this, I'd rather be a soldier." Woolen cloth."
"Actually, this is what I think too." Yang Jian smiled and nodded: "Tell me, how many troops do you want to bring?"
"Uncle, I'm just trying to make a metaphor. I don't want to join the army." Yang Ji was anxious. If you don't enjoy a good life, why would you want to be a soldier?
"That won't work." Yang Jian flatly refused: "The army can best temper people's will. Almost all of us Yang family members have experienced in the army. You should also take the path of becoming a general and a prime minister."
"Okay then!" Yang Ji said bitterly: "With my abilities, I can at most be a fire chief. After working for ten or eight years, I should be able to be promoted to team leader based on my qualifications."
Yang Guang couldn't help but laugh out loud. He finally saw that this guy just wanted to live and die as a prince and had no career pursuits at all.
Yang Jian also found it funny, and said to Yang Ji with a smile: "It's actually not bad for you to be the chief of fire. You lead ten soldiers to patrol Daxing City every day, and you fight the dandies openly and honestly, which can be regarded as eliminating harm for the people."
"Uncle is so wise!" Yang Jili said happily: "Actually, I think so too, and I also have a plan?"
"What's the plan?" Yang Jian looked at him with some evil intentions.
"There are too many dandy boys in the capital who are shameless and unafraid of the law. These dandy boys usually rely on their family background to do evil and insult officials. Since their parents can condone their children's law-breaking and disorderly behavior, then you can also condone your nephew's violence. Violent! If there is someone who is more dandy, more capable of fighting, less afraid of trouble, less unreasonable, and has a stronger backing to punish them, the public security in Daxing City will definitely be better." At this point, Yang Ji recommended himself: "I think I can take on this important responsibility, and there is no one better than me.”
Yang Jian said happily: "Let me think about it carefully, you can go back first."
"My nephew, please retire." Yang Ji bowed and left happily.
"Father, the capital is overrun with dandies. His idea of using violence to fight violence is indeed a good way to deal with dandies." Yang Guang waited for Yang Ji to walk away and said with a smile, "Why don't you let him try it?"
"He is dreaming." Yang Jian snorted coldly: "The Prince of Sui Dynasty will be the chief of fire? Fortunately, he can think of it. He is shameless, and I still want it."
Yang Jian stretched out and suddenly said with a smile: "Don't he want to be a playboy? I just gave him an official position that is full of affairs and troubles."
Yang Guang: "..."
