There was a commotion among the people in Dongshi Bixing, and several shops were engulfed in raging fire. The fire was soaring into the sky, thick smoke was billowing, and the rapid tongues of flames were rolling into the sky. The sudden fire caused people queuing up to buy books to rush outside, trampling on each other, and shouting, screaming, and begging for help.
The flames soared into the sky, and the raging heat burned their mouths and noses, and the people could only retreat again and again. City officials and servants from the Civil Affairs Bureau responsible for managing the southern part of Dongshi City rushed to the scene after hearing the news, and drew water from the nearby release ponds and canals to put out the fire. However, the buildings in that business were all made of wood, and once they burned, they could not be stopped.
The fire burned extremely fast, and no one could stand within tens of feet of the fire scene. A few bold officials forced themselves closer, and their hair was immediately scorched and curled up. The fire was so painful that they could not open their eyes. Talk about putting out fires? I could only watch helplessly as the fire engulfed the wooden buildings in the writing shop one after another.
"Boom!" A huge beam collapsed in the magnificent Wenhanxuan, throwing up sparks. Countless flames first sank, and then burned more violently. The whole building was crumbling, and finally collapsed in the fire, rushing towards the face. The fierce flames forced the crowd to retreat continuously, and they finally stood still after retreating a hundred feet away.
The majestic and spectacular buildings were burned into ruins, and so were the other buildings. One after another they fell in the fire. Although the fire in the fire was still burning, the fire that shot straight into Yunxiao gradually shrank. Come down.
When Yang Ji and Pei Shuying retreated to the street with Yuchi Gong and others, there were crowds of people everywhere who came out to watch. Although the fire was still very big, it was already under control and did not spread to the medicine shop in the north or the divination shop in the south. Countless government officials He and Zuowu Houwei soldiers braved the rolling heat wave to carry water to put out the fire. Among them, the shop servants and the city department who had just arrived were jumping in panic, but there was one person who was calm and composed, directing the government officials and soldiers to put out the fire.
This person is Dou Qing, the magistrate of Daxing County.
Dou Qing was the second son of Chen Yi's Duke Dou Rongding and Princess An Changchang. He had the title of Duke of Yongfu. His rank as magistrate of Daxing County was comparable to that of the governor of Shangzhou. He had been in office for less than half a year. This was Yang Jian's way of appeasing the Dou family. one.
At this time, he was in uniform and acted very bravely. From a distance, he could be heard shouting loudly: "Human life comes first. No matter what, we must not let the fire burn down the shop and hurt people's lives."
There were more than a dozen businessmen nearby who expressed their gratitude with tears in their eyes.
Two government servants rushed over and shouted to the watching people: "Magistrate Dou worked bravely to put out the fire. The heat has been controlled and no one was injured."
The crowd suddenly burst into cheers, applause, and words of gratitude.
Yang Ji looked at the cheerful people and found that these people's clothes were of excellent quality. They did not look like ordinary people, but servants of some powerful families, which made him somewhat suspicious that they were "spies" invited by Dou Qing.
After searching around, I saw Xue Ju and two guards carrying two large bundles of books looking anxiously. He quickly stepped forward and shouted: "Xue Ju, we are here."
Xue Ju followed the call and saw that Yang Ji was safe. He breathed a sigh of relief and strode forward to salute: "Young Master."
"How did this fire start? Do you know?" Yang Ji was full of doubts about the fire.
The fire came too suddenly, the fire was too fast, Dou Qing acted too bravely, and there were too many "shills". All of this seemed to have been arranged in advance. In addition, there were a large number of books in each shop of the pen shop, and there was no room for it. Think more.
Xue Ju saw that except for Pei Shuying, the master and servant, all three of them were palace guards, so he stepped forward and said, "Sir, this fire came very strangely."
"Strange? What kind of strange method?"
"The fire started from Wen Hanxuan." Xue Ju said quickly: "When I came out of Wen Hanxuan, I happened to meet a man moving books. He saw one or two prayer lanterns flying from the south. This The two lamps must have flown from nearby. They flew very low, hit the wall of the warehouse, knocked over the oil inside, and then burned. Putting prayer lamps in broad daylight is one of the doubtful points. The second The doubtful point is that in addition to Wen Hanxuan, this is also one of the reasons why the fire became uncontrollable once it burned. The third doubtful point is that shortly after the fire started, Dou Qing led a large group of government servants to arrive. Logically speaking, he should be there at this time. The office of Yiyangfang County Office is the right one. In terms of time and distance, he shouldn't have come so quickly. Even if he is wandering nearby, he shouldn't have so many government officials with him."
"It seems that this time, we have become a pair of 'disasters' again." After hearing Xue Ju's words, Yang Ji was convinced that the fire was deliberately set, rather than an accidental fire. Judging from the current situation, Dou Qing is the most suspect. It is possible that he is playing a "arson to save himself" drama in order to express himself and gain political achievements; it is also possible that a family member is attacking the bookstore and is targeting booksellers. It was a warning to let booksellers know the consequences of being enemies of the aristocratic family. It was also a warning to Yang Jian, who supported the circulation of books.
"This time it is the 'disaster' of the bad guys. If you announce the list of prisoners tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, it is the right time." Pei Shuying bit her thin red lips and looked at Yang Ji and said, "People think you will announce the list of prisoners." The list is a response to the arsonists, not a political fight; when the time comes, Cui, Zheng, Wang, and Zhang will not be able to explain it."
In fact, Yang Ji also thought so, but instead of announcing all three families, he only announced the list of prisoners of the Boling Cui family, giving Lu, Li, and Zheng the opportunity to attack the Cui family, prompting them to bite dogs and reduce their pressure. . Said: "It's too chaotic here. You masters and servants should go back home first."
Pei Shuying smiled slightly, nodded and said, "Okay!"
Yang Ji told Xue Ju, "I'm going to the palace. You can take a few people to escort Lady Shuying back to Pei Mansion."
"As commanded."
"Let's all work separately." After Yang Ji finished speaking, he led Yuchi Gong and others towards the imperial city and left Dongshi.
Arriving near the Yanxi Gate at the junction of the imperial city and the palace city, he took out Liu Rumei's special "makeup remover", washed the disguise off his face, wiped it randomly a few times, and ran to the palace.
After passing Changle Gate, I bumped into Yang Guang, who was about to go to the scene to watch, and shouted from a distance: "Brother, please stay."
The guards all knew Yang Ji, so they stopped the carriage. Hearing the sound, Yang Guang opened the car door, looked at the cat-like Yang Ji with a painted face, and asked curiously: "King Kong slave, you are not the newlywed wife who is accompanying you in the house. Huh? How did it become like this?"
Yang Ji ran to the carriage and said, "Brother, I saw the fire in Dongshi with my own eyes. I was about to report the situation to you."
Hearing this, Yang Guang quickly asked: "Oh? How is the fire?"
Yang Ji said calmly: "Under the wise command and reasonable arrangements of Dou Qing County Magistrate, Daxing County officials and government servants worked hard and worked hard to control the fire within the pen shop and avoid further expansion of the situation. Dongshi merchants were grateful." , all peoples sing praises.”
"Dou Qing? It seems that he is quite good as a county magistrate!"
Yang Ji sneered and said: "Fend for yourself and perish. The thief shouts to catch the thief."
"What?" Although Yang Guang was calm, his expression changed due to Yang Ji's two idioms: "Get in the car and tell me."
"Here!" Yang Ji boarded the carriage and sat opposite Yang Guang. He told Xue Ju exactly what he had learned and what he had guessed, and finally said: "What if Dou Qing set this fire for political achievements?" , the blame lies with him alone; if you think more deeply, it is the 'small group of thieves' that Zhang Jin said. Of course, it is also possible that it was not him who set the fire, but the political achievements 'gifted' to him by the family members."
"What difference does it make?" Yang Guang thought for a long time with a cold face, and said bitterly: "It doesn't matter whether Dou Qing set the fire or not. He will not be severely punished anyway. I'm afraid he will still be punished for saving Dongshi. Enter the court. You don’t have to worry about this."
Yang Ji frowned and asked, "Dou Qing has absolutely nothing to do with this fire. Why don't you hold him accountable and promote him instead?"
"Vajra slave, you think about things too simply." Yang Guang shook his head and said to Yang Ji: "Listening to what you said, I also think that this fire is directly related to Dou Qing. But even if he set this fire Yes, we can’t do anything to him, let alone investigate him.”
Yang Ji asked puzzledly: "Why can't he be checked?"
"In the case where He Ruobi assassinated you, He Ruobi confessed many things about the Guanlong nobles and confessed many people. He was not a broken person as people thought, but wanted to expand the situation to the entire Guanlong nobles in order to The entire force of the Long nobles put pressure on Aye in order to achieve the goal of protecting themselves. He tried his best to save himself. Not only was he unable to protect himself, but he was unanimously abandoned by the Guanlong nobles. But for the Guanlong nobles, his purpose was It is indeed a reality. Just because that case involved families from three major factions, Aye could only pursue the culprit and settle the case hastily."
When Yang Guang said this, he hesitated and pondered. There were some secrets related to the fate of the Sui Dynasty. He didn't know whether he should tell Yang Ji. But when he thought that Yang Ji was the main force against the Guanlong nobles, he whispered Said: "When I personally interrogated He Ruobi, he confessed many horrifying secrets. To sum up, the conflict between the Guanlong nobles and my royal family is irresolvable. Aye later appointed Dou Kang as the governor and general manager of Youzhou. Appointing Dou Qing as the magistrate of Daxing County has two purposes. First, it is to appease the Dou family and relax their guard and hostility. Secondly, the Dou brothers have royal blood, and Aye believes that they are more reliable than Dou Wei, so raising their brothers' status in this way The purpose of the status and prestige in the Dou family is to prompt them to challenge the new head of the family, Dou Wei. It would be best if Dou Kang becomes the head of the family. If he fails to become the head of the family, it will also cause the Dou family and the Dou sect to slowly split; if this purpose is achieved The realization not only weakened the Dou family and the Dou sect due to internal strife, but also reduced the pressure on the Dugu sect or the Yuan sect. As for the Dugu family, we will also use the same method to reuse the five Dugu brothers. .”
Yang Ji couldn't help but said: "It's quite similar to Chang Sun Sheng's method of dealing with the Turkic Khanate."
"This method was originally borrowed from Chang Sun Sheng." Yang Guang smiled, although he knew that this method would be difficult to work in the Sui Dynasty where clan was supreme, but it was better than doing nothing. At least a seed of mutual suspicion can be sown within the Dugu family and the Dou family. Once this seed takes root and sprouts, it will eventually grow into a towering tree.
He warned: "For the future, you don't need to pay attention to this Dou Qing. Fortunately, he is a little clever. Otherwise, I would have to cover up for him."
Yang Ji said: "Fortunately, I was not impulsive. Otherwise, my plan would have been ruined. I should reflect on myself in the future."
"No, no, no! You are doing pretty well as you are now." Yang Guang waved his hand and said seriously: "I have also been the general manager of Bingzhou and the general manager of Yangzhou. I know local things well, but the truth I have learned now The news about us is becoming less and less. I am very worried that one day I will not be able to see or hear any real news. You must always remember: I am Yang Guang and your brother first, and then Prince and so on. I told Bin Zhen and them the same way, so in the future you must be as unrestrained, speak freely, and dare to speak out as you are now."
"I remember it." Yang Ji felt his heart heat up after hearing this. After thinking for a moment, he expressed his thoughts: "The place and time when the fire occurred are related to the book ban advocated by Cui Zhongfang and others, and Zhang Jin's 'Small gangs of thieves' are closer. Once the list of prisoners is announced, people will definitely connect these things together and criticize 'Cui is really dirty'."
"Did you really do it?" Yang Guang was shocked when he heard that. Although he heard that Yang Ji went to the official department to collect the list of prisoners, he always thought that Yang Ji was just using it to threaten Cui Zhongfang and others. He didn't expect that this guy turned out to be a prank. real.
"Of course it's true." Yang Ji asked back: "Is it possible that it's fake?"
"You guy..." Yang Guang scratched his head, looked at Yang Ji with some helplessness, some irritability, and some worry, and persuaded him with sincerity and sincerity: "Vajra slave! The Shandong nobles have always regarded themselves as Chinese orthodox, in a certain sense It is said in the book that they indeed represent the authentic inheritance of the Han family. Although they are not as pure as the southern gentry, they are far more than the Guanlong nobles who are seriously Huhua. They care about face very much. Even if they are full of male thieves and female prostitutes, they always make impassioned appeals on the surface. justice."
"Reputation is as important as Mount Tai to the children of the gentry. If their reputation is ruined, it will be like killing their parents, and they will have an undying feud. It is an exaggeration to say that a bad reputation makes it difficult to move forward these days, but the official career is almost complete. It's over. There is still a saying among the people that "cutting off a person's wealth is like killing his parents." If you cut off a person's official career, it will be a feud that lasts for several generations. Your solemn words at the court meeting made Cui Zhongfang, Zheng Shanyuan, and Wang Long The reputation is completely ruined, and they will regard each of them as sworn enemies. If you, if you publish this list, the reputations of the Boling Cui family, the Xingyang Zheng family, and the Taiyuan Wang family that have been built for hundreds of years will be ruined. By then, there will be so many people who want to kill you...more than you can imagine. Do you know or understand the serious consequences of this?"
"I know, I understand! But after it is announced, brother, do you know or understand the benefits to the Sui Dynasty and the imperial power?" Yang Ji asked.
Yang Guang was stunned for a moment, stared at Yang Ji and said, "Of course I know, of course I understand! But..."
"That's enough!" Yang Ji interrupted Yang Guang and said with a smile: "Some people have to do some things, and some people have to break some rotten rules. Otherwise, how can one generation be better than the other, or stronger than the other? Besides, I have my brother as my backer, so what do I have to be afraid of?"
Yang Guang's eyes were red when he heard this, and he quickly controlled his mood: "Go away! Go back and think about it."
"Here!" Yang Ji got out of the carriage, turned around and left.
The Great Sui Dynasty may have died, and Yang Guang may have become the famous Sui Yang Emperor, but everything is just a possibility.
Although the current Sui Dynasty is full of undercurrents and treacherous clouds, and all the aristocratic families are ready to make a move, the right time, place, and people are all on the side of the Sui royal family; and now Yang Guang is not only not a willful and cruel tyrant, but also a cruel and violent tyrant. A very emotional person, his political path is actually destined. In the future, he can only follow the path drawn by Yang Jian, and there is no turning back. If he continues to be weak, the Sui Dynasty may immediately change and weapons will be everywhere.
And since Yang Ji came to the Sui Dynasty and became a member of the Sui Dynasty royal family, how could he sit indifferently and watch the Sui Dynasty embark on its original trajectory? If the trajectory of the Sui Dynasty remained unchanged, Yang Ji would still be wiped out.
Since everyone considers themselves a chess player, then he, Yang Ji, might as well become a table flipper.
——————
Please recommend and vote for me monthly.
7017k
