Chapter 384:
After a morning of patrolling Tiangong City, Yang Ji returned to Zhangye City with a full harvest. He initially established the Tiangong Department and built Tiangong City: first, after the advent of new papermaking and printing technologies, he saw that both Yang Jian and Yang Guang supported He engaged in 'industry', so he struck while the iron was hot and hired many skilled craftsmen. If they were concentrated in Zhangye City, the sound of clanging iron would make the whole city restless; secondly, the previous craftsmen worked in their own fields, and everyone went their own way. Things can't create new sparks from collision. So he established the Tiangong Bureau as a central coordinator, and then selected the most outstanding craftsmen from the fields of wood, iron, stone, clay, leather, smelting, machinery, etc., and let them specialize in research and development and teach apprentices. This is an important research institute, so there are weapons and equipment such as heavy repeating crossbows, new armors, brim helmets, etc.
Yang Ji was sitting in his official residence playing with a horizontal sword made of patterned steel. This is a new horizontal sword designed by craftsmen in various fields based on the tools soldiers need for fighting and camping. The difference from the previous horizontal sword is that There is a row of sharp serrations in the middle of the back of the knife, which can expand the wound when it pierces the enemy's body. Moreover, these serrations can be used as a saw to cut wood when camping, replacing the blade to a large extent, and ultimately achieving the function of protecting the blade. ; The blade body is engraved with blood grooves, so it can be pulled out smoothly after piercing the enemy's body.
On the table, there is also a helmet with a brim. This brim is similar to a visor cap. Although it is only a small improvement, it definitely adds a lot of defense to soldiers. This hat The rim can not only prevent rainwater from flowing into the eyes, block the sun, but also resist the thrown arrows to a certain extent, so as not to hurt the soldiers' faces.
What makes Yang Ji even more delighted is that the craftsmen have the innovative spirit to break the old things; they no longer regard their predecessors as lofty gods, but have the courage to add their own whimsical ideas to the works of their predecessors, giving them the power of innovation. The work takes on new life. This was unimaginable before.
Craftsmen who dare to do this now will dare to absorb the efforts of their predecessors in the future and invent their own masterpieces. This is also the most valuable thing. If they continue to regard their predecessors as gods and dare not "break ground" on their predecessors' works, this How can we talk about progress in the world?
He raised his head and said to Yin Shishi and Yang Shanhui: "The Tiangong Administration has achieved great results. I think we should increase our support. On the one hand, we will collect outstanding craftsmen from all over the country, and on the other hand, we will find them from captives and slaves. In addition, through caravans, The Sogdians brought excellent craftsmen from the Western Regions and Persia, making Tiangong City the most advanced and complete R&D center in the world."
"In addition, I always feel that the situation in Tuyuhun will undergo major changes this year. I'm afraid we still have a big war to fight. Try to prepare as much military supplies as possible to prepare for emergencies."
As soon as Yang Ji said these words, Master Yin Shi was furious. He looked at Yang Ji with a tragic face and said loudly: "Your Majesty, we in Liangzhou have been unable to make ends meet in terms of food. We have a large number of new people, captives and slaves to support internally. Later, we obtained the ruins of Shanshan and Qiemo. The people in these two states also asked the government to transport grain to sell and provide assistance, so that they could tide over the difficulties. If the Dugu family had not brought hundreds of stones of grain to Liangzhou to sell, I am afraid that the price of grain would have risen to an unimaginable level. It’s high.”
Yu Shinan, who was in charge of the Mincao, was a very generous and generous person, but in recent years, he was forced to become a miser by Yang Ji. Before he went to preside over the scientific examinations in Taozhou, Hezhou, and Lanzhou, he treated Yin Shishi Qian Ding. Wan urged him to stick to his position, hold on to the key, and never give Yang Ji any more food. Master Yinshi also knew what Liangzhou was like, so he naturally refused.
"No food again?" Yang Ji had a headache. After he arrived in Liangzhou, Liangzhou's food and grass had been in short supply. Even with Yang Jian and Yang Guang's long-term and vigorous assistance, it had not changed.
Spicy next door! I had always been afraid that Yang Guang would destroy the Sui Dynasty, and I had always been worried that Yang Guang would be militaristic. Now looking back, I realized that it was me, not Yang Guang, who was militaristic.
"What do you think?" Master Yinshi looked at Yang Ji angrily, and settled the score with Yang Ji: "Although the spring grain harvest this year is good, after your Majesty returned to Liangzhou, you led your troops to attack Murong Bei, To engage the Eastern Turks, in addition, Xue Shixiong, Zhang Xutuo, and Mai Tiezhang mobilized troops, and Shanzhou, Kuozhou, and Taozhou have been in confrontation with Tuyuhun for a long time. The consumption of all these troops must be solved by us in Liangzhou ourselves... There are also prisoners who have been reformed through labor, and the tens of thousands of surrendered soldiers you brought from the Great Lakes region, which also consume a lot of food every day. If you continue to hoard military supplies and fight again, the stable situation you finally achieved will not be achieved unless you are defeated. You can’t send him away.”
Yin Shishi came to Sima from Liangzhou. Logically speaking, according to the rules, his mission was to help Yang Ji take charge of the army and assist Yang Ji in winning the battle. However, now, he and Yang Shanhui, who is the chief historian, have been betrayed by Yang Ji. It turned out that he would be in charge of government while Yang Shanhui would fight the war. Until now, Yin Shishi, a military commander, knew much more about Liangzhou's government affairs than Yang Shanhui.
Yang Ji asked: "Then what do you think we should do?"
Master Yinshi felt even more depressed when he saw that Yang Ji really regarded him as a grown-up, and said in a rough voice: "How did I know?"
Yang Shanhui, who was standing next to him, looked at Yin Shishi's striking expression and consoled him harmoniously: "Yin Sima, we have been at war for so long, isn't it just to kill Tuyuhun? If Tuyuhun changes, this soldier must be sent out. , so as not to delay the fighter opportunity."
"..." Master Yinshi looked at Yang Shanhui, who had nothing to do with him and was concerned, and was so angry that he almost vomited blood.
Your sister!
You also know that I am Sima?
I was obviously helping you, but you turned around and stabbed me.
"What Yang Changshi said is absolutely true!" Just when Master Yin Shi wanted to curse, Yang Ji said, "It's not that I want to fight!"
"Tell me, tell me! Which bastard wants to be beaten? I'll make the theory." Even though he was an honest man, Master Yin Shi was annoyed when Yang Ji and Yang Shanhui took turns attacking him. stand up.
After saying this, Master Yin Shi suddenly shuddered. He looked around cautiously, only to find that Yang Ji was looking at him with a strange look.
With a gulp and a swallow, Master Yinshi quietly moved back, trying to let Yang Shanhui cover him as much as possible.
After being together for so many years, Yin Shishi finally figured out that this little King Wei was just like his father Yang Shuang, a domineering and imposing figure on the battlefield; when it came to deceiving people, both father and son were also top masters. But in private, Yang Ji is countless times more sinister than Yang Shuang. He seems to have inherited the fine tradition of the "old mistress". When it comes to playing tricks on people, one set follows another, which is better than that. The terrifying old King Wei is much more terrifying.
It would definitely not do anything good to be on his mind right now.
Seeing his timid appearance, Yang Ji couldn't help but laugh: "Not a bastard, but a saint!"
"Which...ah?" Master Yin Shi immediately turned off the flames. He calmed down and asked with a dark face: "How can a saint fight?"
"The saint needs to destroy the country!" Yang Ji said deceptively: "The countries in the Western Region are too small to fight, and the Turks have given up, so after all the calculations, Tuyuhun is the most suitable. If the saint personally conquers, he will definitely send out several A hundred thousand troops, if we didn’t stockpile supplies in advance, how could we support such a large army in the future?”
"Seriously?" Master Yinshi asked dubiously.
"It's true!" Yang Ji nodded solemnly. His words could not be regarded as lies, because he knew that Yang Guang in history did indeed go on a personal expedition. After easily destroying Tuyuhun, he established four new buildings on the plateau. County.
Although it is not clear in which year this battle took place, Yang Ji knew that not long after Yang Guang ascended the throne, he asked Pei Ju to go to the Western Regions. He first summoned the kings of various countries to Zhangye to participate in the "All Nations" trade fair, which strengthened the relationship between the Sui Dynasty and the Western Regions. , accelerated the east-west trade exchanges. After personally stabilizing the countries in the Western Region, Yang Guang immediately led his troops to attack Tuyuhun and killed Tuyuhun easily.
Pei Ju is about to go on a mission to the Western Regions, which may bring about this massive trade fair and this war of annihilation ahead of schedule. If Yang Guang really wanted to go on a personal expedition, he would definitely use a large-scale army. The more troops there are, the more supplies, civilians, food and grass will be needed.
Now it is not necessarily possible that the imperial commander will personally conquer the country, but it will definitely not go wrong if Liangzhou makes more preparations. Once Yang Guang kills Tuyuhun as he did in history, Liangzhou will at least stockpile some supplies to make Yang Guang's army more powerful. There is no need to mobilize a large amount of materials from Guanzhong, which reduces the intensity of disturbing the people.
"Alas!" Master Yinshi let out a long sigh. If this was the case, then he would have to raise his hands and surrender, but...
He struggled for a long time before he said helplessly: "But I can't do it! I can't produce so much food."
"Let's do this!" Yang Ji said to Yin Shishi: "Let Xue Ju take the soldiers and Turkic prisoners from the Great Lakes area to Shanshan to help Dou Qing resume production. If there is a war, let these troops enter from Dangjin Mountain Pass Tuyuhun, serve as the vanguard of our army."
Cruel enough!
Yang Shanhui sat upright and looked intently. He couldn't help but give Yang Ji a thumbs up in his heart. In this way, the losses of the Sui army could be reduced to a great extent. Even if all these people died, the court would not need to spend a single penny on pensions. .
Whenever there is a shortage of people, Yang Ji will go to the grassland to fight and capture a group of people. Anyway, as long as there is a population in the grassland, there will be no shortage of free labor in Liangzhou and there will be no shortage of "death squads" in the armies.
After hearing these words, Master Yinshi's firm stance also relaxed a lot. If they follow Yang Ji's ideas, then they can not only restore the people's livelihood in Shanshan, but also continue to consume Tuyuhun. It can be said that they kill two birds with one stone.
Of course the most important thing is that they save money! There is no need to pay military pay during normal times, and no pension is required after death. As for military rations, as long as they have enough to eat.
But Yin Shishi still had a problem here. He thought for a while and asked Yang Ji: "Where is Xue Shixiong's army? What should we do? He and Qian Jie have a total of 80,000 troops at Dangjin Mountain Pass."
"Then just transfer 40,000 people back." Yang Ji said to Master Yin Shi: "This time, I evacuated Madam Fan's city from the population. These people will be distributed to various states and counties. Although their arrival will enrich them, The population of each state and county has increased, but everyone's habits and customs are different, which can easily lead to some conflicts. If the state soldiers are not enough and the response is improper, some small conflicts will turn into major turmoil, so at the beginning of the distribution, we need to strengthen the military power of each state .”
"Of the 40,000 troops transferred back, I plan to send 20,000 back to each state and home first, but they must go to the county government for military training once a month. If a war breaks out, they must return to the county government as soon as possible to obey orders. After half a year, they must go to the county government for military training. , and then focus on recalling, and send another 20,000 people home."
Master Yinshi frowned and thought for a moment, then nodded to Yang Ji with difficulty. Although the number of troops has not changed, the place has stabilized. Moreover, the 80,000 troops have been away from home for too long, and it is time for them to go home and reunite.
At this time, Song Zhengben, who was 'private for the public', walked in hurriedly. He saluted the three of them, and then said to Yang Ji: "Your Majesty, I just got the news that the Dugu family caravan has transferred 200,000 grains." It was transported to Fanhe County in Liangzhou."
Yang Ji's heart suddenly fell to the ground. Although he was here to blackmail Master Yinshi, he also knew that Master Yinshi could not produce food no matter how much he gave in. Unexpectedly, the Dugu family would turn the two of them into enemies in a short period of time. One hundred thousand shi of grain was transported to Liangzhou, which temporarily solved the problem of military rations. He said with joy: "When this batch of food arrives, we will eat this batch of food in the name of the military, and the money will be deducted from military expenses."
"Here!" Master Yinshi responded. Liangzhou has the power to mint money and has a large amount of copper mines, so Liangzhou is not short of money, what is short of it is real food. But when he agreed, he suddenly realized something was wrong and quickly said to Yang Ji: "Your Majesty, Yang Changshi should be responsible for this kind of thing."
"Okay, okay!" Of course Yang Ji knew that his right-hand man was not enthusiastic about government affairs, let alone liked it, so he felt a headache and said to Yang Shanhui, the rightful leader, "Have you heard everything?"
"I heard it!" Yang Shanhui glanced at Yin Shishi helplessly. From the looks of it, Yin Shishi's hard days were over, but his own had just begun.
Yang Ji pondered for a long time and then said to Song Zhengben: "I guess the Dugu family has lost money. We can't do this business; this kind of business won't last long. I'll go back and ask the Dugu family to make up for all the money that needs to be made up." , We must also give them the benefits that should be given. Since they have done so much, we should not let them lose money anymore."
Liangzhou's food shortage problem will last for a long, long time. Next, the Dugu family will definitely have to transport food into the country. If the Dugu family loses money for a long time, they won't do it! If the Dugu family is forced to run away for temporary gain, which family has so much food, and which family has such a large caravan? Even if there is, which aristocratic family member is willing to 'do their best' to help Liangzhou tide over the difficulties?
"Your Majesty, there is no need to worry. Your humble duty has been fulfilled. But please, Your Majesty, please tell Dugu Bin, otherwise Dugu Bin will not accept the price difference we have made up." Song Zhengben smiled, and then said: "Liangzhou's treasury is not much worse. , I think the king does not need to owe the Dugu family any favors."
"Is the person in charge of the Dugu family Dugu Fu?" Yang Ji secretly praised Song Zhengben for his meticulousness. His last words really spoke to his heart.
The people doing business with the Dugu family were clearly the Sui Dynasty and Liangzhou, and the people who benefited were tens of thousands of people. Yang Ji was just taking the lead, so why should he owe the Dugu family a favor?
This is simply unreasonable and unfair to him!
What's more, Yang Guang has always regarded him as a sharp knife against the Guanlong nobles, and he is also the dragon-slaying boy in his mind. If he accepts the benefits of the Dugu family, Yang Guang must feel that he has colluded with the Dugu family and become something he hates. The evil dragon, Tyrannosaurus.
So if he gave the due profit, then the two parties would have normal business dealings; afterwards, he would not owe the Dugu family any favors, and Yang Guang would also feel that the Dugu family shipped the grain to sell it for this huge profit.
As for whether the Yuan sect and Dou sect among the Guanlong nobles misunderstood the Dugu family because of this, it has nothing to do with Yang Ji; it can even be said that this misunderstanding is something that Yang Ji likes to see and expect.
Song Zhengben nodded and said, "It's him! According to the people below, Dugu Fu is now in charge of the Dugu family's business in the west."
"I will take the time to talk to him." Yang Ji knew that among the seven sons of Dugu Xin, except Dugu Luo, the other six sons were brothers from the same parents. However, these six sons also had differences in kinship and distance, such as Dugu Shan, Dugu Mu, and Dugu Shan. The three branches of Dugu Zang died in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, so the status of their descendants in the Dugu family is not high, far inferior to that of the descendants of Dugu Shun, Dugu Tuo and Dugu Zheng.
Dugu Fu and his elder brother Dugu Ji are the sons of the fourth son Dugu Zang. When Dugu Shun was the head of the family, their situation was not much different from that of Dugu Luo's sons. However, as the eldest son, Duguji not only inherited the title posthumously conferred on his father by Yang Jian, but also became the governor of Cangzhou. However, as the second son, Dugu Fu had to work hard on his own, and the family did not give him any political resources, so he was reduced to one of the many managers, and even the person in charge of the brothel; although there were many opportunities to enrich his own pockets, but When the Dugu family is not short of money, this position is quite humiliating.
It wasn't until Dugu Zheng took the position of the head of the family that Dugu Bin's situation got a little better. From this small detail and personnel changes, Yang Ji can see that Dugu Zheng is more just than Dugu Shun, is better at being the head of the family, can unite the Dugu family better, and of course is more difficult to deal with.
It happened that Dugu Shun, the former head of the family, was in Zhangye City and was eager to see him, so he could take this opportunity to resolve the matter together.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
In the preliminary examination of the Liangzhou imperial examination, each of Cao's chief officials was responsible for three states, and Xiao Yu was in charge of Guazhou, Yizhou, and Tingzhou. He returned to Zhangye at dusk. Seeing that it was getting late, he did not go to the Zhou Mu Mansion, but went directly back to the Xiao Mansion.
After returning home, he changed into regular clothes and sat in the study, drinking tea and reading the candidates' test papers. The test papers were anonymous, and he did not know which candidate the test papers belonged to.
Compared to the Ming Jing Ke test papers, which only involve dictating the Five Classics and interpreting famous sentences, Xiao Yu obviously prefers to read the Xiu Cai Ke test papers of students; because the Xiu Cai Ke test papers are students' strategies, statecraft strategies, poetry and essays, and this subject is not only more capable of It reflects the true level of the students, and regardless of whether the written strategies are good or bad, Xiao Yu feels that they are of value for reference.
If the students write well, he can also get inspiration from them and absorb more nutrients for being an official; if the policy reviewer feels that there is something else that Liangzhou is not doing well, he can discover the shortcomings of the state and pastoral government's governance and be able to do so in a timely manner. Report to Yang Ji to make Liangzhou a better place.
In order to learn from his experience, Xiao Yu also specially prepared pen, ink, paper and inkstone. Occasionally he would write down something he gained, and then attach his feelings and insights. When he encountered someone who said Liangzhou was deficient, he would also write it down and attach it. Come up with your own solution.
"Uncle Seven!" At this time, Xiao Yu's nephew Xiao Xuan called out from outside the door. Xiao Xuan is Xiao Cong's son. Like Han Yue next to Li Jing, he has been practicing with his elders and helping them with things. While solving problems, you also make progress yourself.
"What's the matter?" Xiao Yu put down his pen, turned to the door and asked.
Xiao Xuan said outside the door: "Uncle Qi, Prime Minister Pei ordered his son Pei Xuanji to send a greeting card! He said that Prime Minister Pei will be visiting in half an hour."
"What?" Xiao Yu was greatly surprised when he heard the news. Pei Ju was a figure of the same level as his brother, but he was just a small Liangzhou Dacao. How could He De allow the Prime Minister to visit? Besides, it would be too unsociable for Pei Ju to come at this time, right? Moreover, how did he know that he was back?
However, although Xiao Yu was full of questions, he knew that Pei Ju had condescended to come to the door and asked his eldest son to deliver the post. Out of etiquette, he had to receive him grandly no matter what. He immediately stood up and ordered: "Open the main gate and the middle gate, and ask your aunt and others to come out to greet you."
"Here!" Xiao Xuan responded and left.
Xiao Yu looked at the sky outside, and then thought about the time when Yang Ji was about to marry Pei Shuying as his concubine, and couldn't help but think wildly:
This Pei Ju came to visit rashly. Is this a normal visit? Or did you come to the "Xiao Family" to demonstrate on behalf of your daughter?
The former is fine, but if it's the latter...
snort!
Although the Pei family is powerful, the Xiao family is not a weakling who can be bullied or slaughtered by others.
Thinking of this, Xiao Yu put on his fancy clothes and strode outside.
