More than ten states in Liangzhou were in the Sui Dynasty. They were in remote and barren areas. The fertile land was bordered by powerful foreign enemies. Therefore, local powerful people with a little strength tried their best to move to Guanzhong and settle down. This also led to the influence of Liangzhou's aristocratic families. Very weak. This status quo also provided a natural foundation for Yang Ji's various measures to benefit the country and the people, making the promotion of his various decrees with minimal resistance.
However, since Yang Ji took office, Liangzhou has been in a state of constant tossing: in terms of external relations, it first killed Yiwuguo, Chuyuebu, and Bujia Khan, and then attacked Tuyuhun and Gaochang; , first came the vigorous large-scale immigration, food-for-work, equalization of land, running schools, building cities and roads, and then the anti-corruption... Every decree he issued was closely related to the interests of millions of people, and it really needed to be solved There are so many things at stake. Although many things are handled by the prefectures and counties, when the work process, the problems that arise during the work, and the methods to solve the problems are sent to the Liangzhou General Manager's Office, it is enough for the General Manager's Office. The officials were so busy that their feet did not touch the ground, and the sky was dark and the earth was dark.
After all the officials discussed important matters with Yang Ji, they went back to the official offices. Only Sima Yinshishi and the principal prosecutor Shi Yangshanhui stayed to chat.
"I originally thought that the anti-corruption campaign that swept the world not long ago would make the official administration of the Sui Dynasty clearer, and the rats who were lucky enough to escape would be more or less restrained and calm down for a while. I never thought, First, the Taozhou officials headed by Zhang Jun committed corruption together and were caught without a trace; then there were conspirators from Weizhou officials to steal the court's money."
At the end, Yang Ji couldn't help but shake his head and sigh. In the ten years before the founding of the emperor, taxes were slightly heavier, which made the country rich and the people poor. Every official warehouse was filled with grain and cloth. However, there was only so much wealth in the world. If the national treasury was more, the people would naturally have less. This led to people's disapproval of the Sui Dynasty. Loyalty is not high enough. Yang Jian later realized this problem and consciously lowered taxes. However, as Yang Ji had been an official for so long, Liangzhou also investigated and punished countless Shuoshu, and finally found that the central government had reduced taxes by half, but local governments either only reduced taxes by one. , 20, 30%, or they still collect taxes at the previous tax rate. They pay the amount specified by the court to the treasury, and the rest belongs to themselves. In the end, it is the common people who suffer, and the infamy and infamy are shouldered by the court.
As for the reporting box that Yang Jian specially used to deal with these people, it was reduced to a decoration.
To this day, in addition to Guanzhong and Yangzhou where Yang Guang was in charge, Liangzhou where Yang Ji was in charge, Yuzhou where Yang Zhao was in charge, and Yanzhou where Yang Lun was in charge, they all follow the court rules and have actually reduced taxes by half, and taxes in more places Still high. If this continues, the luck of Sui Dynasty will be really worrying.
Yang Ji used to live a well-fed life in Daxing City. He knew neither the officialdom nor the sufferings of the people. He originally thought that the crisis of the Sui Dynasty was centered on military power, but he never thought about the administration, people's livelihood, tax system and other aspects that were closely related to the people. It was also devoured by rats. If the people cannot bear the oppression of the rats, it will be the court and the emperor who will take the blame in the end.
However, in fact, the interests of the emperor and the people were integrated, and he paid great attention to people's livelihood and valued the voices of the people. However, many times, the emperor's voice could not get out of Guanzhong, and the emperor's decrees were blocked when they reached state-level administrative units.
This was still the Yang Jian era when the country was governed according to law and officials were strictly governed. If it were changed to the period when other dynasties and other emperors were in charge, what would it be like?
"There is no problem with the sage and the imperial court's plan for governing the country. The problem is that the plan for governing the country requires officials to implement it. If officials violate the will of the sage and refuse to implement the will of the sage, no matter how good the plan for governing the country is, it will be a piece of paper." Yang Shanhui sighed and said with a wry smile: "There are seven officials in the world. Eighty percent come from aristocratic families, and the remaining 20 to 30% are inextricably related to aristocratic families, and the policies of saints and the court to benefit the people are often contrary to the interests of aristocratic families, so of course they turn a deaf ear."
The Yin Shishi next to him heard this and saw that Yang Ji was silent, so he also said: "All dynasties have been controlled by aristocratic families. If Yuwentai did not have the support of the Guanzhong aristocratic family, how could he have the confidence and strength to deal with the powerful Gao Huan? The emperors of the Gao family in the Qi Dynasty were more irritable than the others, and they killed their own people more ruthlessly than the others. But why could they tolerate the Shandong gentry to gain a foothold in the court? Why could they tolerate the ministers who came from the Shandong gentry and contradicted them from time to time? This This is all because the Yuwen family and the Gao family, who hold powerful armies, need to rely on the family members to solve the problems of food and military supplies. Therefore, no matter how cruel the Emperor Gao is, he would not dare to offend the family members to death. If we want to restore people's livelihood in the Sui Dynasty, we must first What he has to do is to distribute the interests of the aristocratic families to the common people. To some extent, the difficulty is even more difficult than defeating the Turks. However, in order for the people of the world to live and work in peace and contentment and have food and clothing, the saint has to face the aristocratic families. .”
"I know what you are talking about. It's just that we can't control so much and so widely. If we say it, we are just asking for trouble." Yang Ji sighed: "The question I am thinking about now is: How can we finally fight in Liangzhou?" It’s a good foundation. If we manage officials and supervise in the current way, I’m afraid it won’t be long before a large number of rats will breed again.”
"What does the chief manager plan to do?" Yang Shanhui asked.
Yang Ji said: "The reporting box used by the people to report illegal officials is in vain because the vast majority of the people do not know the government's decrees. Although the government will announce new policies to the world by issuing official announcements, there are few literate people. Secondly, the list is only circulated in big cities, and in some places the list may not even be posted, so most people don't know what decrees the imperial court has issued. In view of this, I am planning to set up a publicity department."
Yang Shanhui understood what Yang Ji meant and asked, "The general manager is going to let this propaganda department publicize the decree among the people? And will it be passed down orally?"
"That's right!" Yang Ji nodded and said, "As long as the common people know how much tax the imperial court collects every year and what kind of millet they collect, they will have confidence in knowing whether local officials have overcharged. If unscrupulous officials overcharge, someone will always report it. of."
Yang Shanhui frowned and said, "The method is good, but it requires a lot of manpower."
"Students from Liangzhou University can serve." Yang Ji said with a smile: "Students from Liangzhou University come from various counties in 11 prefectures, and they have two long holidays every year, so they are allowed to go deep into the countryside during the holidays to learn about People in various states and counties publicize various decrees of the imperial court. In this way, local people can not only know the policies, but also make these students become practical talents who understand the people and people's livelihood. During the visit, everyone must also learn according to the local laws and regulations of the state. Based on the actual situation of the county, write a local chronicle related to the local customs, a political commentary on official administration and people's livelihood, and a policy commentary. Then the rankings will be unified, and those at the top will be sent to the imperial court from the Liangzhou General Manager's Office."
"I think it's feasible!" Yang Shanhui said with deep approval: "The imperial court stipulates that three students from each state should enter the Guozixue study every year. However, the students who go to the Guozixue for the chief officials of each state and the local high-ranking officials are often the children of aristocratic families and local powerful people. , and because the poor scholars have no connections, no matter how talented they are, they cannot compete for a place. This method is not only unfair, but also inconsistent with the saint’s extensive pursuit of talents. If the power is returned to the General Manager’s Office and Liangzhou University, The selection by the General Manager's Office and Liangzhou University will not only stimulate the students' enthusiasm for publicity, but also allow the students of the common people to win these places in fair competition and based on their true abilities."
Yang Ji smiled and said, "That's what I think."
Master Yinshi frowned and said, "But this right...?"
"Sima Yin is worrying too much!" Yang Shanhui laughed: "Liangzhou is a place where various political orders are tested. Isn't this right decided by the general manager?"
"That's what it is said, but we must fulfill our duties as ministers." Yang Ji said to Yang Shanhui: "This Propaganda Department will be under the name of Li Cao from now on. You will put the purpose of establishing it, its functions, and the students in it." I will clarify the value of this, and then write a memorial in the name of Liangzhou General Manager's Office."
"Here!" Yang Shanhui responded, and then thought of the urgent report that Yang Ji sent before, and said seriously: "The general manager was attacked in Weizhou this time, and I have already felt the turmoil in the court. It is difficult to calm down. The Yuan family has too much selfish desires. They only have family and no country in their eyes. For their own selfish interests, they ignore the bottom line of the court struggle and brazenly collude with the party to ambush the prince and colleagues. I think this is not their first time, and it is definitely It won't be the last time."
Yang Jishen thought so.
The bottom line is the boundary in moral and political struggle. Once someone breaks through it, it will become in name only and can no longer serve as a restriction to restrain each other.
Last year, the Dugu family, the Yuan family, and the Dou family united with the Outer Turkic Khanate to attack Yang Ji. Not long ago, the Yuan family united with Dangxiang to attack Yang Ji. And tomorrow, will they dare to assassinate the emperor and start a rebellion?
Moreover, the Guanlong nobles from the Western Wei Dynasty to the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and from the Northern Zhou Dynasty to the Sui Dynasty, as long as they saw that they had the opportunity to seize huge benefits, they would interpret coups and mutinies as if they were eating and sleeping, and did not care at all what each change would do to the entire world. No matter what kind of disaster it brings, as long as they feel that there is a profit and an opportunity to take advantage of, they can even destroy a country and rejuvenate a country. It is not a problem to commit rebellion or plot to usurp the throne.
In Yang Ji's view, Yang Jian's control over the world is at an unprecedented level. In addition, there is no such strong enemy as the Turkic Khanate. He can actually take the opportunity to cleanse the Guanlong nobles in the He Ruobi case. As long as He Ruobi is The big families who were confessed were defined as collaborators and traitors, and then they were slaughtered, and the people would applaud them. Even if there would be some turmoil afterwards, how much could the Guanlong nobles do without a leader?
However, what is helpless is that Yang Jian has adopted a tolerant attitude towards the increasingly crazy behavior of the Guanlong nobles, and all he wants to do is to "boil the frog in warm water" to solve the problem of the Guanlong nobles. But the problem is that the Guanlong nobles have already noticed it. How can they be willing to sit back and wait for death and be captured without mercy?
"So the general manager must be careful, not only for your personal safety, but also for the movements of the entire Guanlong nobles. These people have the heroic blood of the Xianbei people, and are incompatible with the Han culture in their bones. Even if they are Han and Hu, they have We can no longer distinguish each other, but many things in the blood are difficult to change." Yang Shanhui's attitude was obviously the same as Yang Ji's, and he also felt that it would not be surprising for the Guanlong nobles who had always been unscrupulous to do anything.
They and the emperor had torn everything apart, but Yang Jian, as the emperor, was lucky and thought that everything could be slowed down for a while. This was, to put it harshly, a chance for the Guanlong nobles to prepare for their attack.
Yang Ji thought for a while, frowned and said, "In a few days, I will arrange for some people to go to Beijing to pay close attention to the movements of the Guanlong nobles. At the same time, we will also strengthen the monitoring of Zhangye and let the people report all suspicious people."
Yang Ji had to take precautions.
"For now, that's all we can do!" Yang Shanhui pondered for a long time, and then sighed: "To be disrespectful, I always feel that the saint's behavior is different from before in the past two years. Ordinarily, with the saint's thunderous methods, how can Can the Guanlong nobles be allowed to be so rampant? If it had been during the Kaihuang period, there would have been a lot of killings and rivers of blood. Now people feel indecisive and hesitant, treating the Guanlong nobles like this, and treating the King of Han even more It’s so weird.”
Yang Ji smiled bitterly and said: "The change in the reign title from Kaihuang to Renshou doesn't mean that the saint's mentality has undergone earth-shaking changes? Maybe he is ready to leave everything to the prince to solve."
Yang Shanhui and Master Yinshi nodded silently. After a long time, Master Yinshi sighed and said: "There is no use in making wild guesses at the moment. We, as local officials, have to follow the court's decision step by step. But just like Yang Sima As I just said, the General Manager must put safety first. Once the Guanlong nobles go crazy, they can do anything, and they have always been the only ones to bully others. How have they ever been bullied by others? Now they have suffered losses from the General Manager many times. It’s so tragic, I’m afraid they are all holding back their anger now, and they still put their own safety first recently, so don’t conflict with them head-on again, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous.”
"But I don't know, what should we do now?" Yang Ji nodded slightly. I was also deeply pleased with the attitude of Yang Shanhui and Yin Shishi.
Although managing personal connections is a compulsory course for every official, he did not have room to manage it before, but it is different now. Although he has a group of outstanding elites of the times, although these figures are for his use, they do not belong to him. Personal power.
Maybe after ten or twenty years of hard work, he can turn these people into a Weiwang clan that is completely loyal to him, but this speed is obviously too slow. If he himself has a wider and larger network of people, the more dependent these people will be on him, and he will be able to build a force that is only loyal to him as quickly as possible.
From the current point of view, the Liangzhou General Manager's Office is a community of interests, no different from the Guanlong nobles; and from Yin Shishi and Yang Shanhui down, everyone is moving closer to him, thus forming a situation headed by Yang Ji . If Yang Ji continues to ignore everyone's thoughts, fails to assume the responsibility of the leader, and fails to show the courage of the leader, I am afraid that everyone will think that he is weak and unreliable, and eventually everyone will look for a more reliable backer.
"What the General Manager did was not wrong, and it can be said to be beneficial to the future. However, now that the General Manager is weak, these things should be slowed down. Now, we can accumulate strength, improve people's livelihood, and gather military morale. At the same time, we can secretly Accumulate talents, and when the time is right, these 'potentials' will come naturally." Yang Shanhui said with a smile.
"Thanks for the tip." Yang Ji also smiled.
The correct chapters of "The Rise and Fall of the Sui Dynasty Lord" will continue to be updated.
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