The news that King Wei had entered the capital with twelve cartloads of criminal evidence and powerful secret messages swept through Daxing City like a violent storm, causing a sensation in both the government and the public in just one day.
Immediately afterwards, three more major decisions came out from the imperial court. The first was to sentence the rebel soldiers to three years of hard labor, and the generals below the sixth rank to ten years of hard labor. All the generals above the sixth rank were taken to the capital to be executed, and their families were made official slaves. Citizenship; as for the rebel officers and generals who are not citizens, they will all be taken as official slaves; those who do not act or evade during the rebellion will also be punished in accordance with the law.
More than 200,000 people were punished, which completely broke the conventional law that "the law does not punish everyone". At the same time, it also established the majesty of the law and severely dealt a blow to the luck of those who wanted to commit crimes. .
Secondly, for those ordinary people who died or became disabled during the civil war, the court exempted or exempted ten years of rent, mediocrity, and transfer. This is not only a post-war comfort, but also a message to those people whose relatives were punished after the war: The war was not what the imperial court wanted and could not control, so the imperial court compensated for its own incompetence. However, although you are in a war zone, You can treat it with indifference instead of being a thief. Therefore, if the court should compensate you, it will compensate you, and those who should be punished should still be punished.
Third, before and after Yang Liang's rebellion, there were a large number of courtiers who collaborated with the enemy inside and outside, and there were as many as twelve carts of evidence of collaborating with the enemy. As long as the Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple, and Yushitai verified the evidence clearly and the evidence was conclusive, the imperial court would severely punish them in accordance with the law and would never tolerate it. .
This is also the first time that the imperial court has convicted Yang Liang's associates in a formal document after the results of the counter-rebellion. The first two means that Yang Liang's rebellion has officially ended, while the latter is the cleansing of the traitors.
For the people of the Sui Dynasty, except for those who really felt the pain and applauded, the rest were just used as conversation pieces after dinner. After all, for the ordinary people in Guanzhong, the Bingzhou where the rebellion occurred was too far away and had little to do with them. However, these two major decisions of the imperial court were like a storm to the Guanlong nobles, making those with evil intentions feel insecure and restless.
Anyone who can really see the situation clearly knows that this is a power struggle between the imperial power and the family members. And Yang Liang was just a trigger point. The saint intended to take the opportunity to cleanse the family, and he wanted to implement the true meaning of the rule of law, rather than the harmony of the late emperor.
However, the family members obviously did not want to see such a result. However, because the emperor had great righteousness and took advantage of the opportunity to suppress the rebellion to promote his governing ideas, the imperial power undoubtedly gained the upper hand. Although Yang Liang's crime was unforgivable, he said In the end, he was just a victim of the struggle between the imperial power and the aristocratic families.
Just as officials from all sides were speculating and quietly meeting, Yang Guang quickly appointed more than a thousand county officials in the fifty-two prefectures under the Bingzhou Governor's Office.
Only then did the family members suddenly realize that the liquidation after the war, the appointment of new officials, the implementation of the rule of law, and the use of force to raise generals were not separate entities, but a whole that was detonated by Yang Liang's rebellion. This is just because the officials appointed by Yang Guang, in addition to humble scholars, also have a large number of children from the aristocratic families. These children cannot compete with their direct children in terms of recommendation, self-recommendation, and family influence, so they are reduced to reserve officials who cannot be appointed for a long time. A student of Guozi, but he has not been appointed.
Although these children of the common people also come from different clans, they have been in a marginal position in the clan for generations. Occasionally, an outstanding figure appears, and they are always suppressed by the direct lineage who protects the interests of the clan. Therefore, some people are named They are from the same clan, but they are not even qualified to worship their ancestors, and they treat them as enemies if they are directly related to the clan.
Now that they have become officials through the emperor, they are scattered in various states and counties, and they have been disappointed for several generations. At this time, if they want to regain their family ties and achieve a tacit understanding of putting family first, it will definitely take a few years. impossible. What's more, the emperor has now started to use military force to elect generals. There is no guarantee that he will not push the imperial examination to the whole country in the future. If he has a huge number of talents, he can evacuate all those who recognize their ancestors.
And these ordinary people are generally from low backgrounds, and their human nature is to put themselves first. How can they give up their hard-won officialdom and career for the sake of their sect, which they have not been able to get along with for several lifetimes, and for the sake of a verbal promise? Opportunity for promotion?
If those uncontrolled children of the common people are allowed to thrive, won't they become direct enemies in the future?
After such a calculation, it is really worrying!
However, when the imperial court promulgated these three major decisions and made large-scale personnel appointments, the emperor remained silent for a full day. He neither angrily warned anyone nor handed over the twelve carts of criminal evidence to the Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple, Instead, the Yushitai was locked in the province under the door and allowed to be shelved and ignored.
Since they were all ignored, naturally no one was convicted as a traitor who collaborated with the enemy.
Yang Guang's unexpected move made the Guanlong nobles and court officials who participated in the rebellion panic and fear.
Everyone knows that the saint is really annoyed and angry. He does not say a word at this time. He is just condensing his anger. When the anger reaches the point where it cannot be suppressed, this anger will burst out in an earth-shattering way. It set off a great purge like a tsunami and a bloody storm.
. . . . . .
The busyness of the court and the chilling atmosphere in the court did not affect Yang Ji. On the first day he returned to Beijing, he returned the military order, and the temporary appointment of the Ministry of War (General Superintendent of Inspection and School Youzhou) was also withdrawn, and Yang Ji In view of his great achievements and that there were no major events in Liangzhou, Guang granted him two months' leave. If there were no emergencies in Liangzhou, there would be no need for him to go to Liangzhou this year.
Although Yang Ji knew that the court was very lively these days, he rarely got a long vacation and was too lazy to go to the morning court, let alone be impeached by the censor.
First, there were different paths between civil and military affairs. Although the Sui Dynasty was a dynasty that did not distinguish between civil and military affairs, there was no saying that generals were not allowed to participate in politics, but there was a concept of not seeking political power unless they were in their positions. Since the early dynasty was always focused on government affairs, military commanders were exempted from attending the dynasty every day. The New Year's Eve visit should be more solemn, and military commanders with a certain rank must be present. As for the big court meeting, all the princes, relatives, civil and military officers of the ninth rank or above in Beijing, and local envoys (chief officials and minor officials) must come.
Secondly, although Yang Ji has the position of right-guard general, he has always defined himself as a local official and a military general. In addition, Yang Guang gave him a big vacation, so he was too lazy to go to the daily court and visit the court to refresh his presence. Feeling.
Besides, as of now, there is nothing left to say. The Guanlong nobles now have only three choices, either to rebel like Yang Liang, or to give in before moving the capital to Luoyang, or to wait for the sentence; but even the powerful Yang Liang has been outplayed by him, and the Guanlong nobles will obviously not be there. Yang Guang rebelled when he was at his strongest, and they didn't want to be executed by everyone, so they had no choice but to support Yang Guang in moving the capital.
In this case, why would Yang Ji go to the court to annoy himself?
He stayed at home and lived a life without shame for four days. On the fifth day, he finally came out of his "little" nest.
Early in the morning, Yang Ji left his wives at home and slipped away to the south of Pingkangfang.
The head guard also changed from Xue Ju and others to Zhu Can. The reason was that Yuchi Gong, Li Daliang, and Dugu Pingyun had all signed up for the martial arts examination and were concentrating on the palace to seize the time to practice martial arts. Xue Ju, as the most powerful member of the Wei Wang family, The characters then took on the role of their masters. In addition to intensive training for them, they also took on the responsibility of sparring partners.
Entering Nanli, a noisy and lively atmosphere hits the face, and the streets are full of scribes and warriors. It was already November of the fourth year of Renshou, and there were tens of thousands of scholars and warriors who had come from all over the country to take part in the aristocratic examinations, as well as their relatives, friends, and attendants who came to gain acquaintance with them. When all the scholars and warriors arrive, the number of people will surely double or triple.
More than 90% of these scholars who came to the capital to participate in the imperial examinations were children of aristocratic families who had been recommended to each other by highly respected people; most of the folk warriors who came to participate in the military examinations were local powerful people from well-off families, and they had longed for the famous Pingkangfang. , now it’s hard to come to the capital. If you don’t come to Pingkangfang to drink wine, how will you have bragging rights after returning home? If you don't go to Pingkangfang brothel to have fun, what's the difference between going to the East Building on a business trip and not going out to watch the night view at night?
The group of people wandered aimlessly until noon, then arrived at a large wine shop at the west gate of Nanli.
The wine shop is called "Don't Get Drunk, You Will Not Go Home". The foundation is about five acres, and the buildings on the ground are composed of three four-story restaurants.
Each building is divided in an orderly manner to meet the needs of diners from different classes. The first floor is a lobby dedicated to diners, footmen, businessmen, and dignitaries. There are also some small private rooms on the left and right sides, which are for status. It is used by big businessmen who are not high but very wealthy and also need private occasions. The layout of the second floor is similar to that of the first floor, but the diners are of a higher status. There is also a lobby on the third floor, but it is dominated by private rooms, while the fourth floor is all private rooms.
The backstage of "Undrunk and Never Return" is actually Prince Wei's Mansion. Dugu Min considered that her son had already become an official and she needed to know some information that others didn't know, so she bought it from a big Sogdian businessman. The wine shop serves as an information point to understand the forces of all parties and the dynamics of various places.
Not only is this restaurant in a good location, but it also has a chef from the imperial palace who cooks a wide variety of dishes with a full range of colors and flavors. In addition, it also has strong liquor for cooking and wine from the Western Regions, so the business of this restaurant is extremely hot every day. The dynamics of the court that Xiao Ying knew originated from this.
It was also the first time for Yang Ji to come to "Don't Come Back Until You're Drunk". When they came to the door, they found that the business was unimaginably good and the first floor was almost full.
Although Yang Ji was not in disguise, the waiters waiting at the door belonged to the lower class and obviously did not know Yang Ji. When they saw guests coming, they greeted them warmly. Seeing their attire and demeanor, they greeted the guests walking in front. Yang Ji saluted and said, "Dear distinguished guest, would you like to dine on the fourth floor or the third floor?"
"Let's go to the second floor! Is there any room in the lobby on the second floor?" Yang Ji shook his head and refused. He was originally here to listen to the strange stories. If he went to the private room, he might as well go home directly.
The waiter nodded and said: "There are still a few good seats, please come with me."
"Okay!" Yang Ji and others handed over the reins of the horses to the groom on standby, and walked towards the second floor. It was dinner time, and most of the dozens of tables in the lobby on the second floor were filled with diners, all of whom were stealing. Whisper and talk about the current affairs that happened yesterday.
Yang Ji sat at the window seat, ordered five dishes from his companion, and asked him to serve a bottle of wine first, while listening to the discussions around him, he poured himself a glass of wine.
"I heard that the sage appointed Lang Peiju as the Minister of Huangmen after being nominated by Niu Hong, the Minister of Civil Affairs."
"Didn't you just get promoted from Minister of Civil Affairs to Minister of Civil Affairs?"
"Who knows? It must be related to personnel appointments. I heard that the more than a thousand county officials were appointed in large numbers by the sage when Pei Ju was the minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Considering that people everywhere needed officials to take the lead in restoring people's livelihood, I heard that Those new officials were also nominated by him and Niu Hong."
Yang Ji was slightly startled when he heard this. He thought that the large-scale appointment of officials was a grand initiative concocted by Yang Guang and Yang Zhao, but he did not expect that it was Pei Ju's suggestion. This Pei Ju was so discerning that he seized this opportunity at a critical moment.
Although Yang Guang wanted to reuse Han Shu and suppress the family members, the influence of the family members was all-pervasive. In addition to their own descendants, there were also officials recruited through various means such as marriage, cultivation, and support. These people were all over the government and the public. As an emperor, you can't give up all the famous surnames in the world, right?
Therefore, after Yang Guang ascended the throne, in order to stabilize the country, he did not touch the officials of the powerful families who threatened him. He even promoted Gao Jiong, who had opposed him, to be the Minister of Taichang Temple, and Yu Wenbi to be the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment... At the same time, he also promoted Cui Zhongfang and others. . The people who supported him did not get a promotion to the sky. And the people he touched were officials who were doing nothing. Finally, an atmosphere of normal promotion was created.
Now that his empire has been stabilized, something like Yang Liang's rebellion happened again. Yang Guang really wanted to take this opportunity to clean up the local officials and eliminate those mediocre officials who were in their positions and did not seek to achieve their goals. Most of the officials in the fifty-two states governed by Bingzhou came from the Guanlong nobles who had won over the Shandong gentry. Therefore, Yang Guang's cleanup of these places was not only in line with his intention to suppress the Guanlong nobles who were the greatest threat, but also in line with the interests of the nobles in Shandong and the south.
The Shandong and Southern gentry were complete losers in the Three Kingdoms War. After the war, they were suppressed by the Guanlong nobles in all aspects. Not only did they lose the right to speak in the court, but their traditional sphere of influence was also reduced step by step. This time, large-scale personnel appointments gave them the opportunity to work from the bottom up and around the curve.
As long as their own children and disciples become officials during this incident, they can rely on their ubiquitous connections and huge amounts of money to quickly promote those children who are county officials, and then move closer to the central government step by step.
As for the Guanlong nobles whose interests were seriously damaged, even if they gritted their teeth with hatred, they hated Yang Guang who passed the proposal, not Pei Ju who initiated it.
In other words, Pei Ju was the biggest beneficiary of this personnel appointment. His move not only satisfied the emperor, but also made the gentry in Shandong and the south appreciate it.
Isn't being promoted from Minister of Civil Affairs to Minister of Huangmen in a short period of time the best proof?
While he was thinking about it, a middle-aged man in fine clothes ran up the stairs. He found his friend among the many diners. He was immediately overjoyed and shouted from a distance: "Brother Mo, can you ask me to find him?" It’s so hard!”
"Brother Liu is here just in time, come and have a drink." A person stood up from the table and invited cheerfully.
"How can I be in the mood to drink!" 'Brother Liu' walked over and said anxiously, "Brother Mo, you know that Zhi Sheng is going to move the capital!"
This sentence immediately caused an uproar. The foodies looked at him in shock, and some people even asked loudly: "Didn't the saint's proposal to move the capital be refuted by the nobles of Guanlong? Why did they move the capital again?"
Even Yang Ji put down the wine glass in his hand. Although he knew that it would happen sooner or later, he was really surprised that he could pass so quickly. Could it be that Yang Guang's appointment of a large number of county officials yesterday made some Guanlong nobles unable to sit still and compromised?
"Everyone, please stop making noise and listen to me." 'Brother Liu' yelled when he saw that no one knew about it and was so noisy that he could not speak normally.
When the hall became quiet, he continued to speak loudly: "I heard that Pei Ju, the minister of Huangmen, put forward the proposal to move the capital to Luoyang at the end of the morning dynasty, and got Yang Xiong, Su Wei, Gao Jun, Niu Hong, Xiao Jue, Duan Wenzhen, Zhang Heng, Yu Shiji and other ministers unanimously supported it, and since no one came out to object, the sage agreed on the spot to the proposal to move the capital to Luoyang, and ordered Yang Su, Yang Da, Yu Wenkai, Wei Wanqing and others to build the eastern capital in Luoyang. "
This news once again caused an uproar in the lobby. Some of the diners here were big businessmen from Dongshi. The relocation of the capital to Luoyang had a huge impact on their business. After hearing the news, they all felt as if they were mourning for their heirs. They shouted and cursed as if the floor was about to overturn.
Someone yelled: "Why don't the Guanlong officials object? Are they all dead?"
Just listen to that 'Brother Liu' said loudly: "The Guanlong nobles opposed fiercely last time, but this time no one came forward. After hearing that Su Wei and others supported it, the saint asked three times 'who is against', and the result was that the whole The hall was silent."
Brother Mo shouted in anger and incomprehension: "Moving the capital is related to the vital interests of the Long nobles! Why is there no official in Guan Long who opposes it?"
"The Guanlong nobles flirted with Yang Liang when he rebelled. After Yang Liang's defeat, they became traitors who collaborated with the enemy and betrayed the country. And the twelve carts of evidence brought by King Wei made these officials with evil intentions and dirty butts They are so suppressed that they cannot move. Anyone who dares to oppose the relocation of the capital will be a collaborator who falls under the butcher's knife. The Guanlong nobles are not stupid, how could they jump out and make unnecessary sacrifices?"
"Yes, the capital is over."
"..."
Yang Ji was so dizzy by their noise that he couldn't help but stand up and said loudly: "Everyone, moving the capital to Luoyang is an irresistible trend. Instead of making useless noises here, it is better to liquidate the property as soon as possible, and then Go to Luoyang and buy some land! If you are lucky enough to buy land close to the palace and the market, you can sell it at a sky-high price for every inch of land."
Yang Ji knew that in addition to the land in Luoyang City, my mother had also bought land outside the city. The former was okay and would not lose money no matter how much it was sold, while the latter probably wouldn't make much money. If these businessmen who didn't know the blueprints of the new city now If you blindly buy and bid, you might even be able to make a fortune on land outside the city.
As soon as he said this idea, the hall suddenly became quiet again. Even the well-informed Dongshi merchants were excited by what he said and were eager to try.
They silently weighed the pros and cons in their hearts, then suddenly stood up and shouted "Doctor, settle the bill."
Then there was another uproar, and soon most of them were gone.
