Yang Ji's life in the Sui Dynasty was very regular and he was very self-disciplined. Although he had the domineering reputation of the Dandy King, it was a vicious reputation and had nothing to do with brothels and other fireworks places. He had only been to Fengming. Once on the floor, it ended in a fight. Because of this, Dugumin believed that his son did not understand the affairs between men and women, and asked Liu Rumei to be his enlightenment teacher before marriage. As a result, Liu Rumei, who had no experience, was enlightened by Yang Ji.
He knew that the war lasted throughout the Sui Dynasty, and that the weak and the strong were the survival themes of the Sui people, so he felt that if he wanted to live and live well, he needed to be truly talented and practical. As for the "knowledge" brought by time travel, it can only be regarded as a flash of inspiration and a wake-up call, rather than real learning. Although the role of "enlightenment" is great, if you rely too much on it, it will be over sooner or later.
It is precisely in view of this understanding that Yang Ji has never fallen behind others in learning.
The sky had just turned white the next morning, and Yang Ji had returned from morning exercises.
When he had finished washing and was having breakfast with his wife, Qiu Shui came in and reported: "Your Majesty, the servants in the palace have come to report that the saint invites you to enter the palace."
"Got it!" Yang Ji nodded and told Qiu Shui, "You will accompany the two ladies to the West Market later, and go down to have a meal!"
"Here!" Qiu Shui bowed and retreated.
Yang Ji stirred the fragrant Bijing chicken porridge with a spoon, and asked in confusion: "I'm already on holiday, what does the morning have to do with me? Is it the fifteenth day today?"
Xiao Ying also felt a little strange and said: "Today is the 11th day and there is no morning meeting. Maybe the saint has something to call him."
Yang Ji knew that court officials had a day off every ten days. Today was Double Eleven, and the daily court attendance would also be suspended. Most officials were enjoying a rare holiday at home. Yang Guang summoned him, which probably had nothing to do with the morning court. He said casually: "That's the only way to explain it..."
At this point, Yang Ji's voice suddenly stopped and he suddenly looked up at Xiao Ying.
Xiao Ying asked casually: "Could it be that Mr. Lang has thought of something?"
"It's probably your brother who sold me." Yang Ji thought for a while and said with some depression and annoyance: "Yu Wenshu is a cunning old man. He knows that the general inspector of the martial arts examination is an offending and thankless job, so he I followed the sage's favor and went to create some innocuous ranking list of the thirty-six generals. This left the general inspector of the martial arts examination free, but it has been several days and the sage has not arranged for a personal chief inspector. I I guess the saint listened to your brother’s informant and planned to dump the hot-button chief inspector of the martial arts examination on me. After all, I am very free now."
The more Yang Ji talked, the more he felt that this was the case, and suddenly he felt that the fragrant Bijing chicken porridge was no longer fragrant.
Xiao Ying was stunned for a moment. After the conversation last night, she knew that the Second Ranking of the Martial Arts Examination was a real meritocracy that the saints valued, but it was also the place where aristocratic families and civil and military officials gathered. If the husband becomes the chief inspector and selects officials fairly, he will offend all the noble families and civil and military officials; if it is unfair, the saint will be the first to deal with the husband.
She pondered for a moment and asked, "Could it be Shiming?"
Yang Ji said flatly: "I know that kid Shiming, he won't push me into a pit of fire."
Xiao Ying frowned and asked hesitantly: "Why are you so sure?"
Yang Ji said calmly: "Shi Ming is smart! And I am his uncle who supports him. He needs me to support half of his country. How can he push me into the big fire pit of martial arts?"
"Mr. Lang, what should we do now?" Xiao Ying was very angry when she saw her husband's helpless look! But the object of her irritation is not her husband, but her deceitful half-brother Xiao Jue.
The martial arts examination was held by the Ministry of War. His elder brother, who was the Minister of the Ministry of War, made a big mistake. His husband discovered the loophole and kindly reminded him, so he hurried to the government to discuss it. Her husband kindly taught him how to remedy it.
Since the matter was so important, the elder brother must have gone to the palace nervously to plead guilty, and after being questioned by the saint, he sold her husband outright.
The brother's original intention may be that he did not want to be greedy for the credit, but his husband clearly taught him in private and clearly did not want the credit, but he still offered her husband, which indirectly pushed her husband into this big fire pit.
If this matter is true, then her brother's behavior is unjust and immoral at the least, and it is betrayal of kindness and repaying kindness with enmity at the worst.
"Don't think too much. Let's go to the palace and meet the saint first." Yang Ji finished the cold Bijing chicken porridge in one go and said with a smile: "I'll kill He Ruobi, Yuan Yan, Dou Yi, and Dugu Tuo. I also brought twelve cartloads of criminal evidence from Bingzhou, and the nobles of Guanlong hated me. In addition, I was an opponent of the ban on books, which made the nobles all over the world hate me. It can be said that I have become a person with enemies all over the world. It doesn’t matter if I offend the family members again.”
This is Yang Ji's truth and what he says from his heart, and he also hopes that the martial arts competition will be a complete success. If he becomes the chief inspector, he will be fairer and fairer than others.
However, the more he said this, the more Xiao Ying felt that he cared about her feelings and comforted herself. While being moved and sweet, she became even more angry with her brother. As for whether her brother had sold her husband, whether Yang Ji was the chief inspector of the martial arts examination, and whether he could be the chief inspector of the martial arts examination, she ignored them.
Can't blame her. After all, no matter how smart Xiao Ying is, she is only a young woman. If a woman of this age reaches later generations, she will at most have just entered college. Once a woman of this age falls in love, she almost always puts her lover first. For such people, their IQ will inevitably plummet.
Yang Ji packed up, got on the carriage, and rushed to Daxing Palace under the protection of his own soldiers.
. . . . . .
For Emperor Yang Guang, Xun Xiu was no different from usual times. Although the Sui Dynasty had already implemented an official system of five provinces, six ministries, and eleven temples, because every important position involved the foundation of the Sui Dynasty, the functions of each ministry and temple needed to be carefully considered. The functions of the temple have not yet been clarified, and there are many duplications of functions.
Although Yang Jian and Yang Guang also wanted to remove and redo their positions, they involved too many people's interests, so they could not do it in a hot-headed manner.
To this day, the prime ministers of the Sui Dynasty have very little power. They are in a supporting and advisory position and have almost no decision-making power. In this way, most government affairs had to be reviewed and approved by the emperor himself. Fortunately, Yang Guang was in his prime and had excellent physical strength, and he gradually became accustomed to this kind of high-intensity work.
Early in the morning, Yang Guang came to the Imperial Study Room of the Zhonghua Palace to review the memorials. He casually opened an appointment letter submitted by the Ministry of Officials. The Ministry of Officials decided to promote Li Yuan, the governor of Yanzhou, to the governor of Guanzhou (Xingyang).
In Yang Guang's plan, he wanted to support the nobles to contain the Guanlong nobles, but he could not let the noble family dominate, so he did not want to suppress the Guanlong nobles too hard. Among the Guanlong nobles, the three most feared by Yang Guang were the Dugu, Yuan and Dou families.
As for Li Yuan, although he was the head of the Li family, the nephew of the Dugu family, and the son-in-law of the Dou family, the Li family had already declined into a weak family, so Yang Guang decided to support Li Yuan, his aunt and cousin, and let him disrupt and divide the Guanlong nobles from within. , if he becomes an emerging faction of the Guanlong nobles, he will definitely make the three major factions who are deeply threatened by the attack feel on pins and needles. The official appointment letter in his hand was issued based on his wishes.
Yang Guang casually wrote "Edict" on the appointment letter and put it aside.
Yanzhou is Zhongzhou, while Guanzhou is Shangzhou; the governor of Zhongzhou is from the fifth rank, and the governor of Shangzhou is from the fourth rank. There is a difference of five ranks between the two. Yang Guang casually wrote the word "chi" , at least it saved Li Yuan from walking a few years.
He picked up another official appointment letter and looked at it, and found that it was the latest appointment letter for Yang Su.
Looking at the appointment letter, Yang Guang's face suddenly became solemn, and he fell into a dilemma.
Since the Yang Liang Rebellion was suppressed, Yang Guang has been considering three major events: first, moving the capital to Luoyang, second, determining the crown prince, and third, dividing the power of the imperial court.
He has successfully resolved the first two major issues, and now his focus is on the power structure of the court.
The emperor pays attention to the art of balance. He must not let one family dominate, otherwise the world will be in danger. It is precisely because of this that he did not use Yang Liang's rebellion to kill the Guanlong nobles. He wanted to leave some Guanlong nobles to check and balance the northern gentry, and at the same time support the weak southern gentry, thus forming a three-legged confrontation. .
However, Yang Su became a stumbling block for Yang Guang's balance of power. Not only was he the most prestigious official in the imperial court and the top military commander, but he also had descendants, disciples, and old officials all over the world. His existence has made the world's power appear to be dominated by one family, which is very detrimental to the stability of the world.
Of course, it was impossible for Yang Guang to kill Yang Su with one blow. Firstly, Yang Su had the merit of supporting him, and secondly, Yang Su had great prestige. If Yang Su, who had outstanding meritorious service, was killed, it would definitely cause Chao Gang chaos.
What's more important is that Yang Su's health is getting worse day by day. When he was pacifying Yang Liang, he was caught in a heavy rain and almost fell ill and died. If Yang Guang kills such an old minister and old man who is about to die, it will really be more gain than loss.
Yang Guang thought for a while, then wrote the word "imperial" on the appointment letter, officially appointing Yang Su as Shangshu Ling.
Shangshu Ling is the highest official in Shangshu Province and the highest official with real power in the Sui Dynasty. However, Shangshu Ling seems to have unlimited glory. In fact, it has faded away during the reign of the late emperor Yang Jian. It is no different from the three ministers and the three divisions, and has almost no involvement in government affairs. The power of the six ministries of Shangshu Province is concentrated in the hands of left and right servants. Therefore, this appointment is actually an act of overt promotion and covert promotion. But the vacant position of Zuo Pushe put Yang Guang in a dilemma.
Originally, he was planning to promote Xiao Jue and then grant Duan Wenzhen the Minister of War. However, when he went to the palace yesterday to state the various flaws in the military examination, Yang Guang realized that Xiao Jue did not have the ability to serve as a Zuopushe. .
The moment after refuting Xiao Jue, Yang Ji flashed in Yang Guang's mind. Yang Guang was also shocked by his own thoughts and felt that he was really crazy.
It is true that Yang Ji is capable, loyal, and both civil and military, but he is too young and has no experience in handling the government affairs of a country. With his enthusiasm for tossing, if he becomes Zuo Pushe, wouldn't he be above the court? Was he so excited?
However, the way Yang Ji likes to toss is exactly what Yang Guang appreciates and likes. With that kid's temperament that doesn't like anything, once he enters the court, he will definitely be able to bring the stagnant court to life.
After thinking for a long time, Yang Guang's reason prevailed and decided to let Yang Ji continue to toss in the local area.
In the past, Yang Shuang, the king of Wei Zhao, was also thrown into the army by the late emperor. When he was twenty-five years old, he came to the capital to serve as the provincial governor. However, Yang Ji is now twenty-one years old. When he is twenty-four, he will be transferred to the army. It’s not too late to go to court.
If he is qualified for Nayan, Pushe and other positions before the age of twenty-four, then their generation of brothers can be regarded as incomparable to their predecessors.
"Reporting to the saint, King Wei is waiting to meet you outside." A eunuch's voice came from the door.
"He came very quickly, let him in." Hearing this, Yang Guang also showed a smile on his face: "Prepare a pot of tea for him."
"Here!" The eunuch retreated and quickly brought Yang Ji in.
Yang Ji bowed and saluted: "See the saint!"
"Sit anywhere you want!" Yang Guang took a look at him and saw that he was actually wearing a court uniform, which was rare. In addition, he was showing great power, and he had a majestic, heroic and restrained Confucian general style. He couldn't help but admired: "Yes, you look more elegant in court clothes than in armor."
When Yang Ji saw that Yang Guang was wearing regular clothes, he knew that it was not a formal official summons, so he became casual, touched his face, and said with a smile: "I can't help it, I'm a good-looking person, and I look good no matter what I wear."
"You think I didn't tell you!" Yang Guang couldn't stand his bad looks. He was originally a elegant Confucian general, but when he smiled and said that, he turned into a playful little hooligan in an instant.
However, such little hooligans are no longer seen after becoming princes and emperors. Therefore, Yang Ji's heartfelt expression full of market atmosphere made Yang Guangpei feel friendly and made him feel cold from the emperor. , and became a "person" with joy, anger, sorrow, and human emotions.
"What have you been doing hiding at home these days?" Yang Guang asked casually, taking a sip from the teacup with a look of disgust on his face.
"During the day, I go back to my old job and go out to deal with those dandy boys when I have nothing to do. My life is quite fulfilling." Yang Ji said casually: "At night, there is nothing else to do except women. "
"Pfft" Yang Guang couldn't hold it back and sprayed a sip of tea on the table. He hurriedly put down the tea cup and said angrily: "Can you speak more normally?"
"What I said is all the truth." Yang Ji looked innocent. He was telling the truth. In ancient times, there was a lack of entertainment equipment. At night, there was really nothing else to do except women. So he developed a good habit of going to bed early and getting up early since he was a child.
Yang Guang pretended to be displeased and grimaced: "Don't talk to me about these useless things. Do you know why I'm looking for you?"
Yang Ji didn't hide anything and said frankly: "I think it was my uncle who told me about the loopholes in the martial arts examination and confessed to me by the way, so he found me."
"Not bad!" Yang Guang's face gradually became serious, and he said in a deep voice: "The purpose of my holding the martial arts competition is to promote the concept of meritocracy and competition between scholars and common people. It was originally planned to be held in a unified manner, but the Manchu Dynasty Both civil and military officials opposed it, so they had no choice but to divide the martial arts exam into two rankings, A and B. The playful A ranking was used to satisfy the civil and military officials and aristocratic families. But they were not satisfied yet, and even asked me to cancel the B ranking and move the B ranking to Of course I didn't agree to give up all 400 places on the list to them. If this was done, what would be the difference from the previous selections, and what would be the point of the martial arts examination? But I never expected that they would take advantage of the regulations. I used loopholes to seize the spot on the second list, but if Xiao Jue hadn’t told me, I would still have been kept in the dark.”
Yang Guang lost his temper, feigning anger and asked: "Vajra slave, since you know the problems in the martial arts examination, why don't you come to me directly?"
"I don't know either!" Yang Ji said with great grievance: "I only found out yesterday when I heard the complaints from the warriors participating in the martial arts competition. And I immediately notified Xiao Jue, the Minister of War. I originally wanted to join I reported it to the palace, but was delayed by Ah Hai again."
Yang Guang was choked all of a sudden. What Yang Jian did was undoubtedly painful in his heart, and what Yang Ji did to some extent saved the royal family's face. If it were revealed, it would be exaggerated and publicized by those with malicious intentions. No.
After a moment of silence, Yang Guang said: "Don't talk about that unfilial son, let's talk about the martial arts exam. Do you think the martial arts exam is too hasty?"
Yang Ji said: "The haste is indeed a bit hasty, but I thought brother must have a deep meaning."
"That's exactly it." Yang Guang said slowly: "Martial arts examinations have broken through the control of the military by the aristocratic families to a certain extent, curbed the development of the power of the aristocratic families, and at the same time enabled capable warriors from poor families to be used by the country, so as not to With no way to serve the country, they did things that undermined local stability. This would prevent civilian warriors from causing harm to the local area, expand the source of generals, and consolidate the foundation of our rule in the Sui Dynasty. There is no doubt about its benefits. But martial arts is It was the product of the military’s hot-headedness. I was worried that the generals and generals who came from aristocratic families would regret it later and would not be able to pass the military examination, so I decided to do it in one go. This is also the main reason for the hasty holding. "
Logically speaking, the emperor should not explain so much to his ministers, but Yang Guang knew Yang Ji, trusted Yang Ji, and knew that keeping secrets was not conducive to solving the problem. If he was honest, the boy would soon understand what he meant. and seek solutions from it.
"This martial arts exercise is like fighting." Yang Ji said with a smile.
"You are really right." Yang Guang said: "The game in the court itself is an invisible battlefield. I didn't want this fighter plane to disappear out of thin air, so I held a martial arts competition in a hurry. Currently, the general inspector is empty , and you have a deep understanding of the martial arts examinations and are independent-minded, so I plan to let you serve as the chief inspector of the martial arts examinations."
Yang Ji shook his head like a rattle: "It's not easy to be the chief inspector of the martial arts examination! Once it is fair and just, those military families who hate the martial arts examination to their bones will regard this general inspector as a thorn in their flesh. If there are mistakes, , they will also try their best to impeach me in front of my brother. If I take over this thankless position, I am afraid that when I go home at night, assassins will come to my door and cut off my head."
The biggest hidden danger in the current Sui Dynasty is not the alien races on the frontier, but the aristocratic families from within. Since ancient times, whenever the world was in chaos and the imperial power was unstable, these aristocratic families would frantically fight for power and gain, ranging from deposing kings to changing kings, or joining hands to change dynasties, plunging the Central Plains dynasty into a state of constant war.
It was precisely because he was familiar with the historical trend that Yang Ji knew that Yang Guang would inevitably promote the aristocratic imperial examination to the national imperial examination and use the power of poor scholars to dilute the power of the aristocratic families. It was also because of this that Yang Ji came up with movable type printing and new papermaking technology, and silently handed Yang Jian and Yang Guang a sharp knife.
As for martial arts, it is also a stab to the heart of the martial arts family.
Compared with literati who have spent decades sharpening their swords, warriors pay more attention to talent. Some aristocratic families use all the resources of the family to pile up, but they can't pile up a powerful warrior. However, some people with extraordinary talents among the people can simply He alone can become an unstoppable warrior. With the quotas set, the children of the military family could not compete with the ordinary people with a huge population base in terms of pure force.
Of course, the premise is that the examiner must be fair and impartial.
When Yang Ji said this, he did not really want to reject the general inspector of the martial arts examination, but took this opportunity to make Yang Guang understand that the general inspection of the martial arts examination was a hot and important position. At the same time, he was also suing the former president from the side. Monitor Yu Wenshu's black condition.
Seeing that Yang Ji was so serious, Yang Guang couldn't help but carefully sort out the impact of the martial arts examination on the martial arts family. When he realized the importance of the general inspection of the martial arts examination and the dilemma, he suddenly realized When Yu Wenshu arrived, he didn't really want to rank the generals, but he was shirking responsibility and not wanting to share the king's worries.
After reaching this conclusion, Yang Guang was furious. He felt that he had been deceived and fooled by his cronies. After a long while, he asked slowly: "Then who do you think can be fair and just and handle this matter well? "
Yang Ji frowned and said: "I'm not familiar with the civil and military officials of the DPRK, so I don't know who has this ability. If brother really can't find a suitable candidate, then it's okay for me to be one. But I'm worried that I can't be perfect. .”
Yang Guang's eyes also softened, and he said with a smile on his face: "You just said you were afraid of being assassinated, why did you change your story again?"
Yang Ji said: "I can't guarantee that I will be perfect and foolproof, but I can at least be fair and just. If brother finds a suitable candidate, of course I will be happy with it. If I really can't find one, then I will have to bite the bullet." Come on! After all, martial arts has spread all over the world and attracted worldwide attention, so we can’t let it become the laughing stock of the world, right?”
"What I want is a fair and impartial general inspection. As for the rest, it's all trivial matters." Yang Guang smiled while stroking his hands: "Martial arts competition is an unprecedented grand event. Some small mistakes are inevitable. I will not be unreasonable and picky... ...What now? Do you dare to take it?"
This time Yang Ji did not refuse, but said loudly: "Brother said so, why should I hesitate? I don't believe that this martial art is more terrifying than hundreds of thousands of Turkic soldiers."
"Speak quickly, I appreciate your daring temper!" Yang Guang laughed even more, paused, and then sneered: "Unlike some people, who are willing to take the emperor's salary but don't want to share the emperor's worries!"
