After leaving the Never Drunk, Never Return wine shop, Yang Ji walked to the official office of the Ministry of Civil Affairs in the Imperial City, preparing to discuss food matters with Li Ziquan, Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
Although Yang Guang promised to assist Liangzhou with five million shi of grain, the five million shi from the imperial court were not only paid in installments, but also Liangzhou's reserve grain to stabilize civilian food prices. In fact, there were only a handful of grains that could be used for military purposes. If Yang Ji wanted to increase his troops on the border between the Sui Dynasty and Tuyuhun and promote the height of the arms race, he also had to have sufficient military rations. Otherwise, if a war suddenly broke out, the army would be in a dilemma of having no food to eat.
The best way is to encourage the big grain merchants in Guanzhong to transport grain to Liangzhou. However, the demand for grain in Liangzhou is huge. If there are only one or two grain merchants, it will not be enough to meet his needs. Therefore, he needs to learn about the situation of grain merchants through the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
Li Ziquan originally thought that Yang Ji came to collect food again. When he knew Yang Ji's purpose, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said slowly: "The king's idea is very good. If it is in the hands of merchants, local officials will not It is necessary to mobilize the people in a big way to avoid disturbing the people. However, the grain merchants transport a large amount of grain to Liangzhou, which will inevitably cause the price of grain to plummet. And the merchants are all shrewd people. They will not be ignorant of this. Do you think Will they agree?"
Yang Ji said: "The grain merchants' grain is mainly used for people's consumption. If they can't sell it for a while, the government will buy it. In short, they will not lose money."
"Where is the saint?" Li Ziquan understood what Yang Ji meant, which was to make full use of the power of businessmen to help Liangzhou overcome the difficulties. The businessmen wanted profit, not power. If it was profitable, they would definitely use it one after another. Large quantities of grain were transported to Liangzhou through their own channels and methods.
"I have already discussed it with the sage the day before yesterday. The sage's meaning is very clear." At this point, Yang Ji smiled bitterly and said: "It means that as long as I don't touch the treasury and don't reach out to him for money or food, I can do whatever I want. .”
"That's good." Li Ziquan walked a few steps with his hands behind his back and said to Yang Ji: "The largest grain merchants in our Sui Dynasty are Liu Family Grain Company, Ma Family Grain Company, and Lu Family Grain Company. Does your Majesty know what they are doing?" Who is it?"
Yang Ji shook his head: "But I don't know."
Li Ziquan said: "The owners behind these three grain stores are the Dugu family. The Liu family is mainly responsible for the Central Plains, and the Ma family is mainly responsible for Guanzhong. The Lu family mainly purchases grain in the south, and then the Dugu family transports it to various places."
"Dugu family?" Yang Ji frowned.
"Exactly!" Li Ziquan nodded and said: "The Dugu family's business is spread all over the world and is involved in all walks of life. The three people named Liu, Ma, and Lu who opened the grain store are actually the three top managers of the Dugu family. They He is mainly responsible for the Dugu family’s grain business, which is so large that it already controls more than 70% of the grain supply in Daxing City, Taiyuan City, and Luoyang City.”
Yang Ji nodded slowly. Of course he knew the wealth owned by the Guanlong nobles, among which the Yuan family and the Dugu family were the most important. The Yuan family are descendants of the Northern and Western Wei Dynasties, and it goes without saying that they possess power and wealth. As for the Dugu family, as early as the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Dugu Xin had amassed an unrivaled wealth for his family. After the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, , Yang Jian and Empress Dugu did not give much political help to the Dugu family, but they tacitly allowed them to gather wealth through business. To this day, no one knows how much wealth the Dugu family has.
Therefore, Yang Jiban was not surprised at all when Li Ziquan said that the people behind the three major grain stores were the Dugu family. It's just that in this way, it seems that I, who need food, can't get around the Dugu family.
"Thank you Li Shangshu for telling me. I will go talk to the Dugu family now. If it doesn't help, I will think of other ways." The grudge between Yang Ji and the Dugu family is not small. If you think about it deeper, the conflict between the two parties has even reached the point of It was irreconcilable, but he still wanted to give it a try.
"Your Majesty, please wait." Li Ziquan stopped Yang Ji who was about to leave and said to him: "There is another rumor that the Dugu family has transferred the salt business to the Dou family and the grain business to the Yuan family."
"I understand!" Yang Ji nodded, turned around and left the Ministry of Civil Affairs' office. After meeting up with Yu Chigong and others, he went straight to Dugu Mansion in Yiyangfang.
. . . . . .
Dugu Mansion in Yiyangfang covers an area of 100 acres. For such a large mansion, there are seven Dugu families in the capital, each of which is occupied by Dugu Xin's seven sons. But everyone knows that Yiyangfang is irreplaceable, because it is not only the house of the head of the family, Dugu Shun, but also the command center of the Dugu family. Every decision of the Dugu family is issued from here.
The title of the head of the family, Dugu Shun, is Wucheng County Duke, and his official position is Sikong and Jin Ziguanglu Doctor. However, these have no actual power. The only use is to receive more salary and more benefits.
So don't think that this Sikong is the first rank of Prince Zhibi, but when others talk about the head of a hundred officials, they will only ask the second rank Shangshu to order Yang Suhe to shoot Su Wei from the second rank's right servant, not the highest ranking official. Dugu Shun.
This is the biggest gap between virtual jobs and real jobs.
Since Yang Guang came to the throne, Dugu Shun has been extremely low-key, especially the purge after the end of Yang Liang's rebellion, which made him feel quite uneasy. It was not because many of the chess pieces in Bingzhou were captured, but because he was worried that there were still more chessmen in Bingzhou. In the subsequent development of events, if Yang Liang continues to expose some of the Dugu family's support actions in order to protect himself, it will not be a good thing for the Dugu family.
Before this, Dugu Shun, like most of the Guanlong nobles, was more optimistic about Yang Liang, who was firmly in Bingzhou. Therefore, they fully supported Liu Shu and Yang Yong in launching the Renshou Palace coup. If Yang Yong succeeded, the Guanlong nobles would hold Yang Yong hostage to deal with Yang Liang; if Yang Yong failed, they would support Yang Liang to deal with the heavy losses and unstable throne. Yang Guang.
Regardless of the former or the latter, any one of the Yang brothers will have to compromise with the Guanlong nobles for the sake of the emperor's position, the unification of the world, and the world's peace, thus allowing the Guanlong nobles to regain huge political power. Benefit. Compared with the Yuan family and the Dou family, the Yang brothers are half of the Dugu family, so their biggest reliance must be the Dugu family, not the ambitious Yuan family and the 'indifferent' Dou family.
However, the plan could not keep up with the changes. Yang Yong, who placed a small bet, and Yang Liang, who placed a heavy bet, were defeated by Yang Guang with thunderous force. This made Dugu Shun keenly realize that the incompetent Yang Liang was not only a chess piece of the Guanlong nobles, but also a chess piece left by Yang Jian to Yang Guang. Otherwise, why didn't Yang Jian continue to kill Yang Liang after cutting off Yang Xiu's vassal? Otherwise, why did Yang Guang protect Yang Liang who rebelled against him?
If this is the case, then all the methods and actions of the Guanlong nobles after Yang Jian's death were within Yang Jian's expectations. Therefore, in order to consolidate the country forever in the Sui Dynasty, he did not hesitate to use his young son as a chess piece to set up this game against the Guanlong nobles. Shocking situation.
At this time, an important guest came to Dugu Shun's mansion, that was Yuan Zhou, the head of the Yuan family. Yuan Zhou now has no official position, and even his titles and casual officials have been deprived of due to Yang Xiu's involvement. At home, he is only responsible for family affairs.
Yuan Zhou had just received an important piece of information and came specifically to discuss it with Dugu Shun: "Brother Dugu, I just received a piece of news from the palace. Maybe Brother Dugu is more interested."
"What's the matter?" Dugu Shun asked casually.
Yuan Zhou said calmly: "It is said that the prince fell into a coma for no reason today."
"Oh? Is this credible?" Dugu Shun suddenly became interested. Yang Zhao was modest and prudent by nature, with the magnanimity of a prince. His only shortcoming was that he was too fat. From the looks of it, it was not a sign of longevity. If he was suffering from illness, After his death, the crown prince's position will be in turmoil again, and by then, the Dugu family will have room to operate.
"It's credible." Yuan Zhou smiled and nodded. He said to Dugu Shun: "The saint only has two legitimate sons. If the prince cannot wait for the day when he ascends to the throne, the battle for the prince will be re-enacted within the royal family. I think this is ours. Opportunity." Valley
Dugu Shun thought for a while and said understandingly: "The fight for the crown prince that brother Yuan Xian thinks is the son of King Qi and the prince?"
Yuan Zhou nodded and said: "Exactly!"
Dugu Shun was silent for a moment, shook his head and said: "The prince is still here, it's too early to say this now. But one thing, what I mean is that the King of Qi has no king's character. If this person becomes the king, the Sui Dynasty will surely perish. "
"Yes!" Yuan Zhou nodded with an ugly expression. He knew that Dugu Shun's words had three meanings. The first was that he was still optimistic about the prosperous Sui Dynasty and did not believe that the Sui Dynasty would die. The Dugu family supported the Yang family's infighting. , I also hope to sow discord among the Yang family, but do not have the ambition and courage to overthrow the Yang family dynasty; secondly, I will not support the morally corrupt King Yang Jian of Qi; thirdly, and most importantly, if the Yuan family has The Dugu family will never accompany any unscrupulous ambitions.
Dugu Shun released this attitude to Yuan Zhou because he knew deeply that the Yuan family's ambition to restore the country was not annihilated, but instead became more stubborn than before as it was passed down from generation to generation.
What is even more disturbing is that there is a very general consensus among the Yuan family. They even believe that if the Guanlong nobles had supported the Yuan family instead of Yang Jian, then the flourishing Sui Dynasty would have belonged to the Yuan family. . So in a sense, the Yuan family has a lot of resentment towards the Guanlong nobles, including the Dugu family. However, the Yuan family needs the power of the Dugu sect and the Dou sect to restore the country, so they can only do their best to please them. and union.
It was precisely because of the Yuan family's dream of rejuvenating the country and their hatred of the Guanlong nobles that Dugu Shun and Dou Wei realized that if the Yuan family seized power in the Sui Dynasty, the resentment accumulated by the Yuan family for generations would make them more powerful in the future. , unceremoniously waved the butcher knife towards the Guanlong nobles.
Compared with the Yuan family, the Guanlong nobles were the great contributors to the establishment of the Sui Dynasty. Yang Jian and Yang Guang only wanted to weaken the Guanlong nobles, rather than slaughter them all. Therefore, Dugu Shun felt that the Yang family was more powerful than them both intellectually and emotionally. Yuanshi is more believable. So behind the Yuan family's back, he secretly reached a tacit agreement with Dou Wei, the head of the Dou family - the two factions supported the Yuan family to become the leader of the Wuchuan League and supported the Yuan family to try their best to weaken Yang Guang's control over the world, but they could not Will rebel against the Sui Dynasty with the Yuan family.
Dugu Shun saw that the atmosphere was a bit stiff and it was not appropriate to mention anything that would split the Guanlong nobles. He changed the subject and said to Yuan Zhou: "The reason why I don't support the King of Qi is because of Yang Ji." Weird."
"Brother Dugu, what do you mean by this?" Yuan Zhou was moved into the rhythm of the conversation, so he asked casually.
Yang Ji is also the great enemy of the Yuan family. If we talk about the one who hates Yang Ji the most among the three major factions, it is none other than the Yuan family. This is because the Yuan family first lost a Yuan Yan in the assassination of He Ruobi, and then lost Qin. Yuan Shan and his ally Dang Xiang Qiang controlled Qinzhou, so Yuan Zhou was also paying attention to Yang Ji's every move. At this time, when he heard that Dugu Shun raised Yang Ji to a level where he could influence the crown prince, he couldn't help but pay attention to it.
Dugu Shun said: "Didn't you notice, my dear brother? After the sage succeeded in the Renshou Palace coup and Yang Liang's rebellion, I thought he would take charge of the palace. But instead of doing that, he promoted the powerful Yang Ji to a powerful position. The monopoly of Liangzhou Mu is an incredible and unbelievable trust. And in the small incident of the military examination, Yang Ji's wishes were followed and the favored ministers Yu Wenshu and Yu Shiji were dismissed together. I think that behind the scenes There must be a saint's instruction, otherwise Yang Ji, a 'local official', would not dare to do this, what do you think?"
"Hmph, Yang Ji's audacity didn't just happen in a day." Yuan Zhou snorted heavily with great disgust and said: "He used to be the chief manager of Liangzhou, and he dared to interfere in Qinzhou affairs without authorization, causing harm to my clan brother. Yuan Shan’s head fell to the ground, what is this if he isn’t being bold? So I wouldn’t be surprised if he overstepped his authority and collected evidence of Yu Wenshu’s crime.”
After Dugu Shun heard this, he couldn't help but frown deeply. Yang Ji's promotion to state pastor and suing Yu Wenshu were completely different things. However, Yuan Zhou was blinded by hatred and was completely unaware of the subtleties here. He always stubbornly believed that Yang Ji was He was so bold that he felt that there was no need to continue talking about Yang Ji in depth. He might as well discuss it with Yuan Shou another day.
He stretched out, picked up the tea cup and took a sip. Yuan Zhou knew that this meant serving tea, so he stood up knowingly and said: "Brother Dugu, let's call the head of the Dou family here another day to talk about the leader of the Wuchuan Alliance."
"Okay!" Dugu Shun also stood up and said to Yuan Zhou: "Then I won't keep my virtuous brother. Let's discuss the fate of the Guanlong nobles together another day."
He sent Yuan Zhou away through the side door and returned to the inner study. Dugu, who was waiting inside, straightened himself up and said, "Brother, I have been waiting for a long time."
"Sit down and talk!" Dugu Shun sat on the main seat and asked his seventh brother, "Has the grain business been settled?"
Dugu Zheng said: "Although the Yuan family promised to buy out all our grain business channels, they have been unable to come up with so much money; and my younger brother also believed that after the capital was moved, the saint would have no time to pay attention to Guanzhong, so he decided to keep a few percent, but I don't know What do you think, brother?"
Dugu Shun pondered for a long time and said: "You have always been in charge of the family business. You can take full responsibility. You don't have to ask me for instructions on everything."
Dugu Zheng cupped his hands and said, "Here."
"Business is the best way to temper people. You might as well bring a few more smart disciples and let them learn the ways of life and deceit in the mall." Dugu Shun's eyes showed a hint of bitterness.
The Dugu family, like the Yuan family, now faces the dilemma of having no successors. The Yuan family also gave birth to Yuan Min, but looking at the next generation of the Dugu family, there is not even a person who can carry the tripod.
"Little brother, I understand." Dugu Zheng also felt uncomfortable. Among the three major factions of Guanlong nobles, compared with the Dou family, which rose up in the Han Dynasty, although the Dugu family has wealth that rivals other countries, their background is too poor. To put it bluntly, after their brothers, they really didn't have any direct descendants who could do anything. However, the Dugu Tun lineage, which changed their surname to Dugu, was very prosperous.
The eldest son of Dugu Tun, Dugu Kai, is the general manager of Yizhou, and the second son, Dugu Sheng, is the general manager of Taozhou's march. If the Sui Dynasty fights Tuyuhun and wins, Dugu Sheng will become one of the Twelve Guards Generals, just around the corner.
The youngest daughter Dugu Min is the princess. As long as Yang Ji does not fall and the Dugu brothers do not commit suicide, their branch will prosper for a long time.
On the other hand, it’s really hard to describe the direct branches!
Just as the two brothers were looking at each other speechless, the nervous voice of the housekeeper came from outside the door, "Master, King Wei wants to see you!"
"Ah!" Both brothers were shocked. Yang Ji, whom he had never known before and had a deep hatred for, came to visit. What was he doing? But their brothers were not ordinary people after all, and they quickly calmed down.
Although Dugu Shun didn't know what Yang Ji's attitude was, he had to welcome him when he came to his door. He stood up and ordered: "Open the main gate and the middle gate to welcome King Wei."
"As you command!"
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