In the main hall of Renshou Palace, Yang Ji saw Yang Jian half sitting and half lying on the hospital bed as he wished. Although he had some idea of what a seriously ill patient looked like, he was still shocked when he actually saw Yang Jian.
In Yang Ji's impression, Yang Jian always looked refreshed, wise, and confident. His tough personality made all people in the world daunted. However, after not seeing him for more than two months, he was tortured by illness. He was as skinny as a stick, and his face had no trace of flesh except for a loose skin. His pale face, deep-set eye sockets, and high bulging cheekbones made him look like a mummy.
Yang Ji stepped forward and knelt down in panic, and said anxiously: "My nephew pays homage to my uncle."
"I'm not dead yet, why are you kneeling?" Although Yang Jian couldn't move his body, he was in better spirits at this time. Not only was he very happy to see his beloved nephew kneeling in front of his bed, he also said it with great interest A joke. He pointed to the couch beside the bed and motioned for his nephew to sit down and talk.
Yang Ji sat down, held his uncle's hand that was as fragile as a dead branch, and couldn't help but shed tears. Yang Jian patted Yang Ji's hand gently, and said weakly in a floating voice: "Chi'er, everyone will die eventually, there is no need to be so sad, I am going to see your aunt, you should be happy for me That’s it.”
During the days when Yang Jian was recuperating, the people he thought about and dreamed about were all his relatives and friends who had passed away. He dreamed about his parents, his adoptive mother Zhixian Nun, and his beloved wife who he had lived with for decades. I met my brothers and my son Yang Jun, and also dreamed of Yu Wenyong, Yu Wenyun, Yu Wenhu, Yu Wenxian, Wei Xiaokuan, Yuchi Jiong, Gao Wei and so on. As for Sui Jiangshan, which he was most worried about, because he had told Yang Guang everything he needed to explain, he now let go of everything and became very open-minded.
Seeing that Yang Guang was still there, he whispered: "Ah, the burden on you is extremely heavy, so you don't need to accompany me."
"My child, obey!" Yang Guang still had a lot of things to deal with, and he wanted to divide himself into ten parts. Hearing this, he immediately bowed and carefully told Yang Ji: "Vajra slave, Aye needs to rest, don't occupy too much space." For a long time..."
"Get lost!" Yang Jian said "get lost" lightly without even looking at Yang Guang.
After Yang Jian made such a fuss, the sadness in Yang Ji's heart faded a bit, and he said to Yang Jian in a funny and angry way: "Uncle, I actually care about you."
Yang Jian said with great disgust: "I know, but he is so rude every day, which makes me think I am going to die. I am really tired of him these days."
"Baby, let's go now!" Yang Guang didn't know whether to laugh or cry when he heard this, so he had to give Yang Ji a wink quietly, which meant "Aye needs to rest, don't waste too much time", and then left silently.
Yang Ji nodded imperceptibly to Yang Guang. He understood Yang Jian's mood better at the moment, because he had also been sick, and when he knew that the patient was not feeling well, his mood became very anxious and bad. For relatives and friends, Caring and caring will only make you feel bored. Yang Guang was asking questions, nagging, and being "long-winded" every day. It was strange that the sick Yang Jian found him pleasing.
Yang Jian's old eyes were dim and he was half-dead from illness. He did not notice the small movements of the two brothers. He sighed softly and asked: "Vajra slave, if I die, what do you think of Sui Difa (Yang Yong's nickname), Yi?" Will Qian (Yang Liang’s nickname) and the others rebel?"
How should Yang Ji answer this? He couldn't express anything at all, so he could only say vaguely: "Uncle, you also know that I don't have much contact with my two brothers, and we have been separated for many years. How can I know their thoughts? And I am relatively stupid and can't guess. What the brothers think..."
Although Yang Ji did not express his own opinion, he had to say in his heart that Yang Jian and Queen Dugu were not only powerful, but also quite good at playing. The nine children they gave birth to were very outstanding. The five sons were handsome, capable of literature and martial arts, and the four daughters were all dignified, well-educated and polite. Among these nine children, except for the eldest Yang Lihua, who was silly and sweet, the youngest Yang Liang is a deaf person, and the other seven are all people with high IQ and great ability. Although the fate of Yang Yong, Yang Jun, and Yang Xiu became more bleak than the last, in the end, even Yang Liang, who was hard of hearing, was quite capable of fighting and fighting. In the final analysis, their tragedies were caused by the fact that there was only one person on the throne. If it had been the early days of the Northern Wei Dynasty's split, I am afraid that Yang Jian could have conquered a kingdom with just four brothers, five sons, and a few nephews.
The reason why Yang Liang, the king of Han Dynasty in history, was defeated so miserably and so quickly was not because he was stupid or stupid, but because Yang Guang represented orthodoxy on the one hand, and there were a lot of fierce men on the other. If these fierce men who stood out in troubled times had not met the even more fierce Yang Jian, they would probably all be the heroes of the separatist faction. Yang Liang only has a few people at his disposal, and he has no righteousness and popular support. How can he defeat Yang Guang?
Looking at Yang Guang's lineup to defeat the rebel general, it is a luxurious lineup that is rare in history. In addition to making Yang Su the commander-in-chief, he also used Zhou Luohou, Changsun Sheng, Yang Yichen, Li Jing, Yuan Shou, Tu Wanxu, Li Zixiong, Wang Rengong, Shi Xiang, Cui Zhongfang, Feng Xiaoci, Hou Mo and Chen Yi et al.
Any one of these generals not only has great military exploits, but most of them have served as a coach. If it were an era when famous generals were withering, any one of them would be a commander-level figure. However, Yang Guang wanted to teach him a lesson for disobedience. Brother, he sent all these fierce men to the battlefield, and then asked them to lead elite divisions to surround the narrow north-south Bingzhou from all directions. What is this if not bullying?
Faced with such a luxurious lineup, who can bear it?
However, Yang Liang was ill-prepared and launched a hasty attack. He made strategic mistakes before the war and made mistakes during the war. Then he was pursued and beaten by this large group of ruthless characters, which was like a rain of meteorites from the sky. Can't save him.
"Hey!" Faced with Yang Ji's non-answer, Yang Jian sneered and unabashedly exposed Yang Ji's little trick: "It's not that you are stupid, but you are too smart, so you don't want to get involved in this kind of thing. . It’s a pity that there are too few smart people and too many idiots in this world!”
At this point, Yang Jian slowed down a little and continued: "To be more precise, they are too smart and too greedy, so they want more, and in the end they are harmed by their own cleverness. Yu Wenhu is like this, This is the case for Yu Chi, Yu Zeqing... and I am also like this! Although everyone has different purposes, they are all selfish, and there is no difference between them. The final result is that I win, and they all lose. There are two things I am worried about: First, you juniors are worried that our family will kill each other like the Yuwen family, killing all the talents in our family and leaving only idiots. How is this world any different from giving it away to others? Secondly, we are worried that our family will kill each other like the Yuwen family. This is the Great Sui Dynasty, but although there are disobedient forces in the world, as long as my family is strong and trusts each other, I have nothing to worry about."
Perhaps he had too many secrets buried in his heart and his mood had been depressed for too long. He also needed someone to talk to, so he had no intention of shutting up. Without waiting for Yang Ji to answer anything, Yang Jian went on his own. He said: "They may not have the intention to rebel, let alone want to rebel, but people can't help themselves in the officialdom. Even if there are things they don't want to do, those utilitarians will push them forward; even if they are sick in bed, those utilitarians will They will also carry them forward. This is the scary thing about power."
When Yang Jian was sixteen years old, he was already a hussar general with the power to open a government. He was a distant observer of the struggle between Yuwen Qin and Emperor Gong of the Western Wei Dynasty for military and political power. After Yuwentai's death, it was the turn of Yuwen Hu and Emperor Gong of the Western Wei Dynasty to compete for power. Yang Jian was a close observer at that time. During the period of disputes between Yuwenhu and Yuwenjue, Yuwenyu, and Yuwenyong, Yang Jian was the core participant. By the time of Yu Wenyun, Yang Jian had already commanded more than ten thousand people under one man, so he became the leader of political battles.
Therefore, no one in this world understands the fatal attraction of power to a person better than him. People in official circles need power in order to protect themselves, to advance to a higher level, and to rule the world. For this power, fathers and sons can turn against each other, brothers can kill each other, husbands and wives can sever ties, and ministers can rebel...
What is his son's temperament? Yang Jian is confident that he still has some trust. But his son may just be competing for heir apparent. But could the civil servants and generals who were attached to their sons allow the struggle for the crown prince to proceed in a peaceful state? Are you willing to lose all the huge human and financial resources your family has invested?
Totally impossible.
Even if some people admit defeat and stop fighting because of the final defeat, more people are worried about being settled by the winner, so they take desperate risks for themselves and their family's fate, and use any means to defeat their opponents.
Yang Jian himself has a deep understanding of these. He was already the prime minister who dominated the military and political power of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. His relationship with the Northern Zhou royal family was simply another version of Cao Cao and Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty; the difference was that the Northern Zhou royal family was deeply rooted and powerful. , he was on par with Yang Jian, while Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty during Cao Cao's period only had the name of Han Dynasty orthodoxy, and only had a few civil servants and minor military attachés.
This also means that Yang Jian's survival situation is countless times more difficult than that of Cao Cao. If he did not advance at that time, he would die. Therefore, for the fate of his family and the fate of the Yang Group, Yang Jian, with the encouragement of Dugu Jialuo, finally deposed the Northern Zhou Dynasty and established the Great Sui Dynasty.
Then, he brutally killed all the direct descendants of the Yuwen family. Judging from the situation at that time, even if he wanted to spare some time in mind of his old relationship, the courtiers behind him would not agree.
"I am still here, and Sui Difa and Yiqian, as well as their subordinates, do not dare to do anything; if I am gone, what will happen to them? They will push Sui Difa and Yiqian for the sake of power and their lives. Move forward. Those restless people! Now they are just waiting, waiting for the day when I die!" Yang Jian sighed and said worriedly: "I have the majesty of the founding emperor and the popularity of benefiting the world, so I can naturally suppress it. The forces of various factions in Guanlong rebounded, but Ah Yi has no advantage at all in the north or the court, and he does not have as great a reputation as me. Once I die, these forces that oppose our Yang family will emerge. And When the old and the new change, the world is often at its most chaotic, and it is also the best time for opponents.”
When Yang Ji heard this, he was shocked and asked quickly: "Does the uncle already know who is going to rebel?"
Yang Jian saw his expression in his eyes and couldn't help but smile: "That's not true! I've been recuperating these days and I don't care about anything. Who knows who might want to rebel?"
"Then you still say..." Yang Ji looked at his uncle and said speechlessly: "Then you still say such alarmist words? It scared me."
"Silly boy, I am not an alarmist, but I speak from experience." Yang Jian closed his eyes tiredly, rested for a long time, then closed his eyes and said slowly: "Emperor Yuwen Yun of Zhou Xuan was very afraid of me when he was alive. , it was easy to execute our family there. I had no choice but to reveal the vassal's intention to him through Zheng Yi, and I escaped. It wasn't until he died of illness that I dared to take any action, which is exactly the same as the current situation!"
He sighed, and then said: "The method is actually very simple and old-fashioned, which is to use Emperor Yu Wenchan to eradicate the opposition forces, so you must not underestimate fame and righteousness. Although these things are intangible and invisible, But when used well, they are better than millions of soldiers."
Yang Ji asked: "Uncle, you mean that they will cause trouble in the name of the brothers, and they also use slogans such as clearing the emperor and punishing traitorous ministers?"
"Exactly." Yang Jian was silent for a moment and said slowly: "I used the banner of the king of slaying traitors to kill the capable and powerful Yu Wenzhao, Yu Wensheng, Yu Wenchun, Yu Wenda, Yu Wenkui and others. , so that the plan to change the government will no longer encounter any obstacles."
Yang Ji thought for a while and couldn't help but said: "Uncle, according to what you said, I think if someone really rebels, they might raise the banner of 'Kill the traitor King Yang Ji'."
"It's not maybe, but definitely." Yang Jian opened his eyes and asked softly: "Do you know why this is?"
"The matter is obvious! How could I not know?" Yang Ji smiled bitterly and said: "Now the people of the world are men farming and women weaving, living and working in peace and contentment, and most of them are in the happiest stage of their lives. So the only people who want to rebel are the never-satisfied aristocratic families. These people also know that they cannot mobilize the people to rebel, but they want to strengthen their own rebel team, so they can only set their sights on the noble families in other places. And I am already the public enemy of the noble families in the world, and everyone hates them. I am deeply moved to the bone. As long as they raise the banner of 'Killing the Traitor King Yang Ji', families all over the world who share the same hatred will naturally join the army and donate money and materials."
When Yang Ji was causing trouble in Liangzhou, opposing the ban on books in the court, and announcing the list of Cui's prisoners in the capital, Yang Ji had this awareness and was mentally prepared, but he didn't expect this day to come so quickly. Fortunately, he was born in the unprecedentedly powerful Sui Dynasty, and met the extremely powerful Yang Jian and Yang Guang.
However, everything should not be too optimistic. If this kind of war falls into a long-term stalemate, some aristocratic families who originally adopted a wait-and-see attitude will probably support their spokesmen to rebel. If the wind of rebellion sweeps across the world, Yang Guang may be afraid that in order to calm down the "people's resentment", Yang Guang will If he really knew how to drag him out and cut his body into pieces, even if he didn't kill him to thank the world, this official would probably be done with it.
Yang Jian had a smile on his face after listening to Yang Ji's words. Yang Ji was his most admired nephew. He used to admire his unruly, unrestrained and heroic nature. But as Yang Ji grew older and showed his talents as a general and prime minister, Yang Jian also hoped that he would be able to maintain his nature and abide by the most basic rules like a normal official, and the most basic rule was not to rebel. , You cannot deceive the emperor. Once discovered, it will be a serious crime. Even if Yang Jian did not intend to punish him, in order to strictly enforce the law, Yang Ji must be punished to a certain extent.
Yang Jian would not punish him harshly. At most, he would be demoted for a while, and then let Yang Ji appear in the officialdom with a new look. However, his life span was about to end, and Yang Ji, who was less than twenty, might still be able to assist him. The third emperor. In such a long period of time, if he is unruly, does not understand the rules, and does not abide by the rules, the result will definitely be He Ruobi's second place.
Yang Ji was able to realize the seriousness of the problem without roaring irrationally, which shows that he already has the most basic calm mind of an official. Only when a person has the quality of calmness can he peel off the cocoons before doing things. Only after careful consideration of the causes, consequences, and stakes can we seek advantages and avoid disadvantages in the course of our actions, and avoid making fatal mistakes.
The reason why Yang Jian has been able to reach this point depends on this calmness. It is this calmness that enabled him to be the first to realize what risks and benefits are in countless turbulent political battles, and to make timely decisions. Conducive to your own judgment and choice.
At this time, Yang Jian finally felt relieved when he saw that his nephew had already started.
The main reason he said so much was actually to use his own personal experience to teach his nephew, and to make him realize that political struggle is ten thousand times more dangerous than a foreign war with open swords and open guns.
The higher a person's position, the greater the danger he faces. Just because those high-level positions are scarce is enough for all officials to do whatever it takes. Since Yang Ji is in the whirlpool, he must realize that relying solely on the emperor's protection is absolutely impossible, and he must rely on himself as a leader.
He patted Yang Ji's hand and sighed: "Stop talking about these annoying things, talk about the things that make me happy."
Yang Ji nodded and said, "Uncle, do you remember Xue Shixiong and Mai Tiezhang who were ordered to be thieves?"
"Remember!" Yang Jian smiled and said, "I heard that you made a lot of contributions in Liangzhou. Could it be that the two of them made contributions?"
"Yes!" Yang Ji then told the deeds of Mai Tiezhang, Xue Shixiong, Qian Shixiong, Wei Yunqi and others one by one, including supporting Murong Zhao against Murong Fuyun and Tubo, and finally said: "Shanshan and Qiemo already belonged to me during the Sui Dynasty, and Tuyuhun lost these two territories, leaving only the snowy plateau with deep bitter cold. There is not much output on the plateau, and it will be difficult for them to develop. If they continue If this confrontation continues, it won't be long before they can even have enough to eat. At that time, it will be our chance to capture the strategic highland of Qinghai."
Yang Jian's eyes lit up. Since the collapse of the Turkic Khanate, Tuyuhun, which can threaten Liangzhou, Yongzhou, Yizhou, and Liangzhou at the same time, has become his innermost concern. Now that Tuyuhun has lost Shanshan and Qiemo, its important grain-producing areas, what will happen in the future? They were bound to be impoverished, creating an opportunity for the Sui Dynasty to seize Qinghai.
When Yang Ji saw Yang Jian suddenly become energetic and his cheeks were as red as a baby, he was frightened and said quickly: "Uncle, are you okay?"
"I want to rest, rest. Just get away..." Yang Jian's head suddenly felt cramped, and his eyes could not see a trace of light. It seemed that the whole world was only filled with darkness and severe pain. He bit his lip and let out a sudden burst of pain. He swallowed the blood that surged up. He knew that his time was running out, but no matter what, he could not die at this moment, otherwise, his nephew would be unable to explain himself.
Yang Ji didn't realize Yang Jian's persistence and good intentions. At this time, he saw that the luster on his uncle's face quickly faded and became extremely pale. He was frightened and at a loss. Yang Jian said in pain: "Quickly, leave quickly! Leave me, leave me." Far away..."
Yang Ji stood up in a hurry and shouted to the outside: "Physician, come in quickly."
Several waiting doctors from the Imperial Medical Office rushed in. They carefully helped Yang Jian upright. Yang Jian suddenly spat out a mouthful of purple-black blood and fainted.
There was fear in Yang Ji's eyes. Could it be that the uncle's strange look just now was a reflection of his past?
After an old doctor completed the diagnosis, he saw that Yang Ji's face turned pale with fright. He sighed and comforted: "The saint has fainted from time to time these days. Your Majesty, don't worry too much. We will try our best to save the saint. You can go out first!" "
Yang Ji nodded and exited the palace like a zombie. The cool wind blew his mind clearer. He suddenly thought of something and hurriedly walked towards the Dabao Hall.
