The good news of Yang Ji's Northern Expedition to the Great Lakes Region, where he first annihilated the "traitor" Murong Bei and then defeated the Turks' 100,000 elite soldiers, reached Liangzhou, and then from Liangzhou to Daxing City in Guanzhong. After the imperial court verified and confirmed the authenticity of this good news, he immediately Let officials with outstanding literary talent beautify and decorate it, then print countless copies and post them on the notice walls of every square in Daxing City.
With the vigorous publicity by literati and literate people, in less than an hour, the news of Yang Ji's victory caused a sensation in Daxing City and became a hot topic among the people. Every brothel and restaurant was talking about this important event.
Yang Ji was originally a prominent figure in the Sui Dynasty, and the topic about him was rarely interrupted. Since the end of the martial arts competition, his name has become a little quieter, but after this battle, he once again became dazzling and shining.
When ordinary people talk about Yang Ji's achievements, they don't have much impression of him annihilating the "traitor" Murong Bei. In their view, Yang Ji, like his father, was a victorious general who had always victorious in every battle. It was a matter of course that he could defeat Murong Bei from such a trivial angle. But once again the annihilation of the Turkic army of 100,000 troops forced people to pay attention to it.
After all, since the rise of the Turks, they have been raiding southward every year, causing heavy disasters to the people in the north. Therefore, they have always been the first enemy of the Northern Zhou/Northern Qi and Sui dynasties. The word "Turk" has great value among the people of the Sui Dynasty. Far better than Goguryeo and Tuyuhun combined. Now, Yang Ji once again defeated the majority with a small number and easily annihilated one hundred thousand elite Turks. It is difficult for people not to pay attention to it or not to discuss it hotly.
However, except for officials and people with special connections, it is impossible for ordinary people to know the details of this battle, so all kinds of wild thoughts and daydreams emerge one after another, and the results become more and more exaggerated: some people say that Yang Ji can pinch and calculate, and will kill the Turks. Everything about the army was calculated with incomparable accuracy; some people say that Yang Jixian summoned the fire god Zhurong to burn the Turkic army to pieces. In short, there are various versions.
Although it becomes more and more outrageous as it spreads, people like to hear it and some people like to talk about it.
Of course, everything has two sides. Since some people praise Yang Ji, naturally some people try their best to belittle and discredit him. In order to show their presence, some so-called celebrities made loud noises during gatherings and accused Yang Ji of his ruthless actions, saying Yang Ji killed too many people, and he will definitely be punished by God like his father Yang Shuang in the future. The people didn't know whose family they were, but they hated these bastards who were not on the border and didn't know what to do.
After publicity and debate between the pros and cons, Yang Ji became popular throughout Daxing City in just a few days, and once again became the most beautiful kid in Daxing City.
But the news that followed was like a bucket of excrement dropped on Yang Ji's head. The stench of the basin was enough to make Daxing City stink to the sky.
On the third day after the good news reached Daxing City, the news that Yang Ji had sunk the prisoners into Lake Idel came belatedly.
This news was exaggerated by celebrities, and Yang Ji turned it into a "little thing" about the drowning of chiefs' trusted generals in the lake, into Yang Ji's drowning of hundreds of thousands of innocent herdsmen in the Great Lakes area.
The entire Daxing City exploded again.
There are those who please people's hearts; there are also those who don't know what is going on and make unreasonable accusations.
Especially Yang Guang, as the emperor, received a large number of impeachment memorials against Yang Ji every day. There are those who say that the killing of prisoners is ominous, and those who say that what Yang Ji did is detrimental to the fate of the Sui Dynasty... The contents of the impeachment are diverse and countless.
In fact, Yang Guang had never paid less attention to Yang Ji. He listened to the ridiculous remarks in the market and at most just laughed it off. As for these various impeachment memorials, he didn't take it to heart.
As an "Emperor on Horseback" who was bold in killing and conquering the Turks in the south, he not only saw the towns and villages destroyed by the Turks, not only saw the bones inside and outside the Great Wall, but also witnessed the violent methods of the Turks. Since they are so They treated the people of the Sui Dynasty and slaughtered the people and soldiers of the Sui Dynasty like cattle and sheep. Why couldn't the Sui Dynasty pay with blood?
In order to prevent another Murongbei from appearing in the Great Lakes area and to ensure that the Desert Governor's Mansion had no resistance in the governance process, Yang Ji sank the chief's trusted generals into the lake. If the Great Lakes area can be Chineseized as soon as possible, Yang Guang will not mind even if hundreds of thousands of herdsmen are really drowned in the lake, let alone the chief's trusted generals.
Therefore, what Yang Ji did was exactly what a man should have. If Yang Ji became like an ordinary general, timid in doing things, afraid of this and that, he, Yang Guang, would not be happy or appreciate it.
However, various impeachments also annoyed Yang Guang a lot. In order to suppress the impeachment storm, he also commended Yang Ji for his contribution and appreciated Yang Guang's behavior. He posthumously awarded King Wei Zhao Yang Shuang as the founding King Wei Zhao.
Unlike King Yang Zheng of Cai Jing, King Yang Zan of Teng Mu, and King Yang Song of Daoxuan, Yang Shuang's title was added to the title of Emperor Daye, with the word "founding of the country" added. But these two words were full of gold, and they suddenly distanced themselves from the other three uncles.
Just because after the death of a prince, it would be good to add a posthumous title similar to "Jing", "Mu", "Xuan", and "Zhao". The "Founding King Zhao of Wei" like Yang Shuang cannot be said to be unprecedented, but in As far as the current Sui Dynasty is concerned, it is definitely a unique precedent.
What's even more rare is that this "founding of the country" was still due to his son's contribution.
When the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty heard about this unique honor, they all looked at it sideways and understood Yang Guang's attitude.
The impeachment storm also subsided.
However, some politically sensitive ministers also realized that this posthumous gift was just a signal. Hidden behind it was most likely a heavy reward for Yang Ji.
For Yang Shuang's honor, the civil and military ministers actually don't care much. After all, he is a dead man who has been dead for many years. No matter how high the honor is, it is of no use; but "What kind of reward will Yang Ji get" has become a lot of questions. What people care about, more than one person cares about, pays attention to and cares about.
At dusk that day, an inconspicuous carriage stopped in front of the side entrance of Yuan Mansion, and a tall and burly young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes got out of the carriage. This young man is Li Yuan's cousin Li Shentong. This time he visited Yuanshou in partnership with his cousin.
Since his youth, Li Shentong has been known as a chivalrous man, brave and resourceful, and has gained a reputation as a "good man who cares about money but not money" in the Guanzhong knight-errant circle.
On the front steps, Yuan Shou's son Yuan Min had been waiting for a long time. When he saw Li Shentong getting off the car, he hurriedly greeted him. The two were about the same age, but Li Shentong was a generation older, so Yuan Min held the junior ceremony: "Shi Uncle, my father is waiting for you in the study."
The Yuan and Li families were unhappy for a while because they were competing for the position of leader of the Wuchuan League. However, the concessions of the Dugu family and the Dou family finally made the leader of the alliance fall into the hands of the Yuan family. After Yuan Zhou, the head of the Yuan family, got his wish, considering the future It still needed the help of the two factions, but with the vigorous mediation of the new head of the Dugu family, Dugu Zheng, and the head of the Dou family, Dou Wei, they finally met Li Yuan who had sneaked back to the capital half a month ago, although the meeting was relatively reluctant. , and no friendly agreement was reached, but it was a good start.
Li Yuan was the governor of Guanzhou. He returned to the capital without permission, which was a serious matter in itself. If he really wanted to be investigated, he would be dismissed from office or punished with death at the worst, so he did not dare to stay in the capital, so he The next step of communication was handed over to cousin Li Shentong.
Although Li Shentong is smart and capable, he is young and has a humble status. Naturally, he is not qualified to talk to Yuan Zhou, but his seniority is there. So when Yuan Zhou and Li Yuan reached a tacit understanding for further development, the Yuan family was led by Yuan Shou. Come and be responsible for contacting Li Shentong.
Today is the third time Li Shentong has entered Yuan Shou's residence. The first two times he visited, Yuan Shou's attitude was also very arrogant, but this time it was Yuan Shou who took the initiative to send someone to invite him. Li Shentong was keenly aware that an opportunity for formal reconciliation between the two families might have arisen.
The time when Yuan Shou invited him happened to be the afternoon of the same day that the emperor named Yang Shuang the "Founding King of Wei Zhao". From here, Li Shentong guessed that Yuan Shou's visit to him must be related to Yang Ji; and the two families "reconciled" Opportunity" may also be related to Yang Ji.
Li Shentong found that there was a carriage parked in front of the steps. After he and Yuan Min exchanged greetings, he asked as he walked: "My nephew, whose carriage is that? Could it be that Brother Yuan has some distinguished guests?"
"That's Uncle Yu Shi's carriage!" Yuan Min said with a smile.
Li Shentong was stunned and asked: "Yu Zhongwen?"
"It's his younger brother, Yu Xiangxian Shishu." Yuan Min said: "Yu Shishu was also invited by my father. He just arrived and is waiting for Shishu with my father."
"It turns out to be Brother Yu Shi!" Although Li Shentong looked calm on the surface, he was shocked in his heart.
Yu Xiangxian is the grandson of Yu Jin, the "Eight Pillar Kingdom of the Western Wei Dynasty". His elder brother Yu Zhongwen was wanted by Yang Guang to be an official of the Jin Dynasty in his early years because of his talent as a general. Later, when the Turks invaded the frontier, Yang Guang, as a marshal, let him Yu Zhongwen led the leading troops to defeat the Turkic army. After Yang Guang ascended the throne, he was unambiguous about the rewards for his close men and women. Soon after he took the throne, he promoted Yu Zhongwen to General Youyiwei and participated in the selection of civil servants and generals. He was said to be a high-ranking officer. The weight cannot be overstated. Yu Xiangxian himself was not only the consort of Princess Yiyang, the daughter of Emperor Wu of Zhou Dynasty, but also the left leader of the Sui Dynasty, General Wu Benlang, Shang Yi Tong, and the Duke of Qinchang County. He had a wide network of contacts in the court.
Now Yuan Shou actually invited Yu Xiangxian here. Could it be that the Yuan family wanted to exercise its power as leader and use the power of the entire Guanlong nobles to deal with Yang Ji?
When Li Shentong came to this conclusion, he was immediately confused and couldn't figure it out until he reached the door of Yuan Shou's study.
. . . . . .
Yuanshou's study was spacious and spacious, but there were not many furnishings. The brazier in front of the desk was burning red, and the red clay kettle on it was hissing but not yet boiling. The potted peonies on the corner of the desk are in full bloom, adding a bright and lively atmosphere to this simple and simple study.
Yuanshou was also one of Yang Guang's honorable ministers. During the Kaihuang period, he followed Yang Guang to Nanping Chen Dynasty and also took charge of the marshal's palace. Due to his merit, he was promoted to Shangshu Zuocheng. Instead of being prejudiced because he was a descendant of the Yuan family, Yang Guang trusted Yuan Shou. After he ascended the throne, he named Yuan Shou the Taifu Qing and Youguanglu Doctor.
As the Yuan family took over the position of leader of the Wuchuan Alliance, the Dugu and Dou factions "bowed their heads", and Yu Wenshu secretly became friends, the Yuan family's ambitions expanded uncontrollably. At the same time, they also believed that they would attack Yang Ji. The time and strength are both ripe.
On the guest seat, a handsome middle-aged man is sitting on his knees. This man is Yu Xiangxian. Although he has a military position, he is very low-key because of the embarrassment of being Yu Wenyong's son-in-law. , almost no sense of existence. However, thanks to his cautiousness and resourcefulness, he became Yu's military advisor and think tank.
Yu Xiangxian realized that the Guanlong nobles had long been reduced to pieces due to Yang Jian's division, alienation, and inducement. Yang Guang not only took over the huge empire laid down by Yang Jian, but also intensified his efforts to defeat the Guanlong nobles one by one. If everyone can kill Yang Ji, the insightful people from the wealthy families in Guanlong will definitely realize the benefits of "more people are more powerful" and then unite again. So when he knew that Yuan Shi intended to carry this banner, he expressed his support to Yuan Shou.
After all, Yang Ji was the emperor's magic weapon to deal with the Guanlong nobles. If the Yuan family could eradicate him, it would not only be beneficial to all the Guanlong nobles, but also dampen and thwart the emperor's aggressive spirit.
Since it is a good thing for both public and private interests, what does Yu have to object to?
Taking a step back, even if it fails, the Yuan family will bear Yang Ji's anger and revenge, so why not do it?
Neither of them spoke at this time, and the only sounds in the quiet study were the sound of the charcoal fire burning and the hissing of the spring water in the pot.
Everything seems harmonious, natural, peaceful and quiet.
After a while, the spring water in the pot finally began to boil.
Like an arrogant master, Yu Xiangxian took out a set of white porcelain tea sets as if no one else was watching, and took out some green tea leaves from the green tea cup and placed them in the cups. Then he poured water, washed the tea, cleaned the tea sets, brewed tea, and divided the tea... …
The gesture was elegant and swift. In a moment, the aroma of green tea soup in the cup filled the entire study room.
As if he had completed a very important and formal ceremony, Yu Xiangxian stretched out his hand to ask for tea from the Yuanshou people, and said with a smile: "I have always been obsessed with tea ceremony, but making tea is most about the control of the heat and the precision of the technique. Of course, The most important thing is heart – patience.”
Yuan Shou laughed dumbly. He picked up the teacup, brought it to his lips and took a sip: "The 'tea' my brother mentioned is Yang Ji, right?"
"Isn't it?" Yu Xiangxian drank a cup, put down the cup and said: "From now on, Yang Ji usually collects some small and unnoticed little things, and then strings these things together to make the little things become something special." To achieve great things, and then use conspiracy and trickery to force the opponent to make mistakes again and again, and finally win. This is one. Second, all the powerful families have great undertakings and have many children, and some unscrupulous children have done a lot of illegal things. Usually, they are suppressed by their elders, so that they can escape the sanction of the law, but once they are accumulated by someone with intentions, it will be a big deal; and in order to save them, the elders will also do all the illegal and disciplinary things they usually do. One is exposed."
Yu Xiangxian looked at Yuanshou and said with a wry smile: "Whether it is He Ruobi or Yu Wenshu, they are guilty of both. They always think that they are great and do things without any plan or rules. Then, at home, The various actions of the unscrupulous disciples and their defense of shortcomings exploded with great power. When the two were combined, they were unable to take care of both ends. When they wanted to have their cake and eat it too, they made bad moves one after another and made one wrong move. , every step of the way is wrong. In the end, we are all unlucky together."
"I understand what Brother Xian means." Yuan Shou nodded with a wry smile. Yu Xiangxian's words mainly revealed several meanings: firstly, you must have detailed plans for doing things and not act on a whim; secondly, " "Don't be afraid of opponents who are like gods, but be afraid of teammates who are like pigs." What is scary is not Yang Ji, but the 'human-headed pig' at home. If the critical moment comes, the 'pig teammates' should be abandoned to ensure the safety of the 'basic market'.
However, life is about choices and trade-offs. When your precious son is about to die, can you, a powerful man, really ignore it? Do you really care about his life and death?
However, what Yu Xiangxian said was right. He Ruobi was hit with a critical blow by the unscrupulous and unworthy He Ruohuaikou at the critical moment, which caused the He Ruo family to be wiped out. Therefore, compared with the entire family, an unworthy son, Nothing really. But He Ruobi would not have expected that he would be so miserable. If so, how could he not save his son? The same is true for Yu Wenshu.
But no matter what, as the situation developed, He Ruobi and Yu Wenshu were led astray by Yang Ji. They foolishly followed Yang Ji's rhythm, and were ultimately defeated because they could not resist.
"To deal with Yang Ji this time, we'd better use a combination of overt and covert methods. Overtly, we should impeach Yang Ji for killing and provoking a war, dragging Liangzhou's soldiers and people into the war. We must make sure that the saint knows that Yang Ji is no longer under the control of the court and is facing Yang Liang's old man. On the road, once Yang Ji is crowned with the title of 'Yang Liang's Second', will the saint still support him now? Believe him? I don't think so." Yu Xiangxian drank another cup of tea and said lightly: "Of course, We don't expect the saint to go into battle in person, but as long as the saint stands aside and waits, then Yang Ji will lose his biggest backer, and we will win half the battle. As for secretly, we can use huge manpower and material resources to promote Yang Ji's The name "Liang No. 2" further amplified the saint's suspicion. As long as the saint regards Yang Ji as Yang Liang, Yang Ji will be finished."
"This method is good." Yuan Shou pondered for a while and asked: "But dear brother, what if we fail to impeach? What should we do?"
"Then kill him!" Yu Xiangxian said decisively: "Then use the emperor's suspicion to get rid of him easily."
Yuan Shou nodded, Yang Ji was already capable of shocking his master, and it would be great if Yang Guang could be used to eradicate Yang Ji. When he saw Yu Xiangxian slowly starting to make tea again, he said: "The saint regards us Guanlong nobles as cancer, and naturally does not believe half of what we say. We really cannot rush for success and must have enough patience. ..”
After pondering for a long time, Yuan Shou continued: "The key this time is mainly whether our Guanlong clan can be united. Next, I will visit Dugu Zheng, Dou Wei, Yu Wenshu, Zhang Jin, Changsun Chi and others one by one. Please They must put the interests of the Guanlong nobles first. It is precisely because we want to get the full support of the Dugu family and the Dou family that our Yuan family decided to reconcile with Li Yuan."
"I support this decision." Yu Xiangxian glanced at Yuan Shou and added with a smile: "This is not because of Li Yuan, but because of the Dugu family and the Dou family."
The two looked at each other and laughed tacitly.
The Yuan family decided to reconcile with the little Li Yuan. As Yu Xiangxian said, "This is not because of Li Yuan, but because of the Dugu family and the Dou family."
Although Li Yuan's family has declined, he is the nephew of the Dugu family and the son-in-law of the Dou family. He has the common interests of the two families and the two factions. Therefore, the Dugu family and the Dou family previously supported him in his fight for alliance leader. Now that the position of alliance leader has been settled, the Yuan family should indeed put aside their past grudges and take the opportunity to show goodwill to the Dugu family and the Dou family.
"Aye, Uncle Shi!" Yuan Min's voice came from outside the door: "Uncle Shentong Shi is here."
"Please come quickly!" Yuan Shou and Yu Xiangxian stood up and walked to the door to greet them. Yuan Shou opened the concierge himself and said to Li Shentong, "Please come in, dear brother."
"Please, dear brother." Yu Xiangxian also smiled and clasped his fists.
"General, Duke Qinchang, please go first!" Li Shentong returned the gifts one by one, his heart almost bursting with joy.
The task Li Yuan gave him was to work hard to reconcile with the Yuan family. Although Yuan Shou didn't say anything now, his smile, tone, and posture had already released to Li Shentong the attitude of "abandoning past grudges and facing the future."
With this attitude, there is no need to deliberately say anything next. After all, the two sides were fighting secretly before. If they talk about reconciliation, they will make the previous secret fighting clear, which will make the two sides embarrassed and difficult to see each other.
Li Shentong has completed the primary task assigned to him by the head of the family, how can he not be happy? However, he had to lose his own face and be looked down upon by others, but he still tried his best to maintain a calm and polite appearance, showing the two people the good demeanor of a descendant of the Li family. After sitting down, he leaned forward pretending not to know and asked: "The general came to see me, but I don't know what I can do for you?"
"We plan to unite the entire Guanlong nobles to deal with Yang Ji." Yuan Shou said very straightforwardly without being tactful at all: "Brother Xian is invited here. Firstly, I want to ask about Li's attitude, and secondly, to discuss good strategies. "
The Li family in Guanlong was in serious decline and had long been reduced to an insignificant role among the nobles of Guanlong. As a result, the children of the Li family were in a weak position in front of these people, unable to hold their heads up or speak loudly. Although the three people in the room are peers, the gap in age, power, strength, and reputation gives Yuan Shou a huge psychological advantage over Li Shentong, and they get right to the point.
Li Shentong had expected this on the way, but when he heard Yuan Shou mentioning this, he was still surprised. Fortunately, he was prepared and did not hesitate to express his position on behalf of Li Yuan: "We, the Li family, are also members of the Guanlong nobles. Since the 'entire Guanlong nobles' are involved in this matter, the Li family is naturally shouldering the responsibility."
Yuan Shou heard what he meant to hide, that is, if it wasn't 'the entire Guanlong nobles', then the Li family didn't have to participate. However, he didn't care about Li Shentong's little thoughts, and said with a smile: "I I want to hear my brother’s opinion, but I don’t know what good advice he has?”
Li Shentong was less than thirty years old, so he was no match for an old fox like Yuan Shou. He was forced to panic after just one word. He smiled bitterly and said, "Can you allow me to think about it?"
Yu Xiangxian poured a cup of tea for Li Shentong and took the opportunity to say: "This is not a formal occasion, and now is not the time to decide strategies. If you have anything to say, brother Xian, just say it directly. They are all brothers anyway, so it doesn't matter if you say something wrong." .”
Li Shentong was able to become Li Yuan's 'spokesperson', so he was certainly not a stupid person. He understood that what the two wanted was not empty words or big words such as "unshirkable responsibility", but rather something real from him on behalf of the Li family. As long as he tells Yang Ji now how to deal with it, then everyone will be one of our own from now on, even if he is wrong now, it doesn't matter.
As for the sincerity of the reconciliation between the Li family and the Yuan family, in the incident of dealing with Yang Ji, the Li family must take the Yuan family as the leader and participate in the entire planning.
Now that the conditions for the Yuan family's reconciliation have been laid out, if Li Shentong can't come up with any "good ideas," we will have nothing to talk about in the future. What's more terrible is that he already knows about Yuan Shou's plan to deal with Yang Ji. If the Li family does not join in, he will become a public enemy of the Guanlong nobles in the future and will be jointly attacked by everyone.
If the weak Li family is attacked by everyone together, they will definitely die!
With no way to retreat, Li Shentong had no choice but to say bitterly: "General, Duke Qinchang, the head of my family warned us not to get close to Yang Ji, saying that he will not last long."
Yuan Shou and Yu Xiangxian looked at each other and said in unison: "I would like to hear the details!"
Li Shentong said to them: "The master of the family said, 'When the water is full, it overflows, and when the moon is full, it loses', and people also prosper and decline; Yang Ji will definitely be 'the prince of success and the prince of failure' in the end."
Li Shentong is Li Yuan's mouthpiece. He has even less status than Li Yuan in front of Yuan Shou and Yu Xiangxian. However, a mouthpiece also has the advantages of a mouthpiece. Firstly, he does not have to take too much responsibility when speaking, and secondly, he can easily escape, so he is in the Yuan family. He didn't stay long and then slipped away easily.
After sending Li Shentong off politely, Yuan Shou asked Yu Xiangxian, "Brother Xian, what do you think of Li Shentong?"
"These two cousins give me the same feeling." Yu Xiangxian said lightly: "They both like to pretend to be confused with understanding."
Yuanshou asked with a smile: "How can you see it?"
"It's simple!" Yu Xiangxian said: "Since Li Yuan said to the Li family's children, 'Prince of success and prince of failure', then he will naturally talk about how to succeed and how to fail. However, Li Shentong has no idea on this issue. Being vague, what else is this but pretending to be confused with understanding?"
"I also know that Li Yuan is an extremely slippery person who can be used but not trusted. But I didn't expect that the same is true for the children of the Li family." Even so, Yuan Shou was somewhat disapproving of Li Yuan's family. If the Yuan family hadn't cared about the Dugu clan and the Dou family, The family faction, and Li Yuan happened to be the tacit agreement of interests between the two families, so they were too lazy to pay attention to Li Yuan, a little miscellaneous fish.
"It's normal!" Yu Xiangxian understood Li Yuan and his clan better, and said with a very objective smile: "The only person Li can take advantage of now is Li Yuan, the governor of Guanzhou. If Li's children are like this, If you didn't keep your tail between your legs, you would have been dealt with by the other family members in an extremely miserable manner."
7017k
