As the seat of the prefecture of Ganzhou and the prefecture of Liangzhou, Zhangye was also the political, cultural, economic, and military center of the northwest of the Sui Dynasty. From the third year of Renshou to the first year of Daye, it has been three years. The successful construction of the wide and straight official road made Zhangye, now the hub of the Silk Road, prosperous in commerce, with people coming and going, and caravans constantly coming and going.
From a distance, you can already see the city walls of Zhangye City. When you get closer, you can even more appreciate the magnificence and splendor of the city walls. Standing under the city walls, you really look like ants.
As the red sun rose, a motorcade slowly drove into the east gate of Zhangye.
These large carriages have an ordinary appearance and have two-wheeled horses. They are long-distance carriages that can travel on various road conditions.
The carriage driving in front looks very ordinary on the outside, but the layout inside the carriage is extremely clean and refreshing. The floor is covered with snow-white Persian carpets, and white silk ribbons embroidered with plum blossoms, orchids, bamboos and chrysanthemums in an elegant style are hung on the four compartments.
Two middle-aged men knelt and sat on either side of a table. One of them was lightly dressed in soft robes, wearing a high crown and a wide bandana. He looked elegant and looked like a celebrity from the Han and Jin Dynasties.
The other person was dressed as an ordinary scribe, wearing linen clothes that had been washed white. Although he was very simple, he was extremely clean without a trace of stain.
On the table in front of them is a chessboard. Perhaps to prevent the chess pieces from being messed up when walking, the chessboard is made of pig iron, and the chess pieces are natural magnets polished to look like chess pieces.
The man with the highest rank in charge of the black piece is named Wang Xiaotong. He is a descendant of the Wang family in Taiyuan and is proficient in hundreds of schools of thought. However, the most powerful one is in arithmetic. He is familiar with "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic" and Zu Chongzhi's "Zhu Shu". He has conducted extremely in-depth research and criticized the "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic" and "Zhushu" in the article "Shangji Ancient Arithmetic Table". And he was extremely confident in his recently compiled "Ji Gu Suan Jing", and wrote on the title page of this book, "Please interview someone who can calculate and discuss the pros and cons. If you have any comments, I will thank you." With a thousand pieces of gold.”
He is so 'crazy', not because he is blindly arrogant. Rather, his "Ji Gu Suan Jing" groundbreakingly proposed cubic equations and their solutions, solving many practical application problems. This book not only has great academic value, but also opened a new door for the development of arithmetic.
The other person is Xu Wenyuan. Xu Wenyuan served as a doctor of Confucian studies during the Kaihuang period and trained many outstanding disciples. Dou Wei, Yang Xuangan, Li Mi, Wang Shichong and others were his disciples. In the middle and late Kaihuang years, he moved to Taixue Doctor, after Yang Liang refused to listen to the imperial edict, the late emperor appointed him as a friend of the King of Han to explain the "Book of Filial Piety" and "Book of Rites" to Yang Liang, hoping that Yang Liang would turn around and be safe. As for Yang Liang's rebellion, Xu Wenyuan was implicated and was dismissed from his post.
The reason why they came to Liangzhou to debate in great numbers, and the reason why it became known all over the world and was so powerful, is actually because Liangzhou Confucianism seriously deviated from the Confucianism dominated by Shandong gentry.
The biggest feature of Liangzhou Confucianism is to trace its origins. On the basis of maintaining and advocating core concepts such as loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom, trust, forgiveness, brotherhood, etc., it is also interpreted from the background of the life of the saints. The classics of the saints are intended to reflect the original intention and true meaning of the saints; all interpretations since the Han Dynasty are only for reference, rather than strict copying.
In fact, Wang Xiaotong and Xu Wenyuan knew very well that "Er Liu" was right, and the Confucianism they believed in was actually the product of castration. Compared with the majestic and heroic True Confucianism, it was narrow and limited, and even the Confucianism they admired was narrow and limited. Some views are already contrary to the common sayings established by the saints.
In fact, this issue is not only understood by Wang Xiaotong and Xu Wenyuan, but also by many Confucian scholars.
But none of them said anything.
Why?
Because they are vested interests in pseudo-Confucianism.
When pseudo-Confucianism is popular all over the world, everyone expects pseudo-Confucianism to gain fame and wealth. Even if the emperor questions it, he will be rejected by Confucian scholars all over the world! How can other people dare to say it is wrong?
Since they do not correct it from top to bottom, they can naturally continue to use Confucian scholars who believe in pseudo-Confucianism as weapons to continue to extort money from the rulers.
Once the "Thirteen Classics of Justice" edited by Er Liu is successfully compiled, Confucianism, which has been castrated and tampered with, will return to the right path. The pseudo-Confucianism led by the Shandong gentry, which was unprogressive, complacent and rigid in thinking, was naturally abandoned by the world. If Confucianism lost its dominant position, the reputation that the Shandong gentry had built over the years would be lost.
Therefore, preventing the compilation of the "Thirteen Classics of Justice" was the true intention of the Confucian scholars' massive expedition to the West.
Their combat strategy was to first use Confucian classics to suppress the Confucian scholars in Liangzhou University, then use arithmetic to kill the enemy, and finally use "Ji Gu Suan Jing" to crush the Confucian scholars in Liangzhou University.
If the scholars in Liangzhou cannot solve the twenty questions of "Ji Gu Suan Jing" and cannot sort out the "gains and losses" of "Ji Gu Suan Jing", then they will bring back the five carts of coins they brought from Guanzhong, thus achieving the goal of The purpose of humiliating the Confucian scholars in Liangzhou. Later, using this debate as an example, they suppressed and humiliated Er Liu in public opinion, making it impossible for them to gain a foothold in Shilin. And his own status has risen step by step as a result.
If the Er Liu stinks and collapses, the "Thirteen Classics of Justice" they were ordered to edit and the education system in Liangzhou that is different from the Central Plains will naturally not be able to continue; and once the education strategy led by Yang Ji is banned by the court, then Liangzhou will not be able to continue. Prefecture Education and Liangzhou University will naturally become their possessions, and all educational strategies will be led by them.
Therefore, this debate may seem like an academic dispute, but in fact it is full of strong political overtones and has a huge and far-reaching impact on Liangzhou.
"How do we arrange our itinerary?" Wang Xiaotong got off his feet and asked Wang Tong, who was following behind the car window on horseback.
"Return to uncle!" Wang Tong said: "We will first go to the Prefecture Mufu to pay homage to King Wei, and then go to Liangzhou University to defend himself."
"Yes!" Wang Xiaotong nodded. Although he was here to cause trouble this time, etiquette must not be lost. This is not to say how much they respect Yang Ji, but to respect others as well as themselves.
They went to pay homage to King Wei Yang Ji first. This was the most basic etiquette. They also followed their own hearts and did not show off to others.
If Yang Ji in Zhangye refuses to see him, others will make irresponsible remarks. In the end, it was Yang Ji who was embarrassed.
Wang Tong saw among the endless flow of people, some foreign caravans voluntarily left the road to make way for their convoy, and some foreigners were trading with others in half-baked Chinese. He couldn't help but said to Wang Xiaotong and Xu Wenyuan in the car: "Uncle , Mr. Xu, Zhangye City is a magnificent city with a huge flow of people, and it is much more prosperous than Taiyuan City. Do you want to take a look?"
"Okay!" Upon hearing what Wang Tong said, Wang Xiaotong and Xu Wenyuan suddenly became interested and asked people to open the front door and sit in front of the front compartment.
"Brother Wang, I came here once seventeen years before the founding of the Emperor. At that time, Zhangye City was only as big as Xiaxian County, and it was also badly damaged." Xu Wenyuan looked at the prosperous scene on the street and couldn't help but sigh: "Now there is no sense of depression at all. Instead, it feels majestic."
Wang Xiaotong thought of what he saw along the way and the straight, flat and wide official road, and said with deep approval: "If nothing else, King Wei is quite remarkable when it comes to governance alone."
Wang Tong sneered and said: "That also drained the imperial court's savings. If it weren't for the imperial court's strong support, how could it be such a grand event today?"
"You can't say that!" Wang Xiaotong shook his head and said: "Everything has a prerequisite. If King Wei hadn't killed the Turks so much that they didn't dare to go south and Tuyuhun didn't dare to go north, there would be no stable governance conditions."
He glanced at the young and energetic Wang Tong and asked with a smile: "Leaving aside your military achievements, if the imperial court asked you to govern Liangzhou, which is full of waste, and gave you the same good conditions, do you think you could do it? Can you make it this far?”
Wang Xiaotong is a relatively serious person. He believes that political stance and conflict of interests are one thing, and achievements are another. The two must not be confused.
He was convinced by Yang Ji's achievements.
If Wang Tong can achieve 30% of Yang Ji's achievements in government affairs and military affairs, they can push Wang Tong to the position of Minister of the Six Ministries. But it is a pity that their disciples are too good at Confucianism and not good at practical politics.
Among the few governors of the Wang family, there are not even three worthy governors. If it were not for the Wang family behind them, they would not be able to achieve any decent political achievements.
"..." When Wang Tong heard this, he immediately turned off the engine.
Yang Ji's achievement was secondary to his ability, but mainly because of his unique and unique conditions.
As a prince of the Sui Dynasty, his and his family's interests are consistent with those of the people. Only when the people are good can the Sui Dynasty be long-term and stable. And if the people want to live a good life, they must deprive some privileges, land, and population from the aristocratic families, so The Yang family, including the emperor, all hope that someone will try their best to build a powerful family. However, everyone in the royal family is worried that they will become a businessman and the father-in-law, and will end up with a bad death and a broken family. Therefore, no one dares to be a pioneer of reform.
Only Yang Ji, a stupid young man, not only has a flexible mind, but also has the courage to challenge the powerful. In the process of reform, he also used the infinitely noble and honorable status of the prince to attract talents. Then everyone united as one and worked hard to implement various new policies, and Liangzhou achieved today's prosperous situation.
And Wang Tong, first of all, does not have the courage of Yang Ji. Even if he did, his family would not allow him to act recklessly. Even if he ignores the family's opinions and insists on reform, he will not be able to recruit a large number of talents willing to accompany him in reform.
Since we don’t even have the three most basic and critical conditions, how can we still talk about nonsense reform and the prosperity of Liangzhou?
Xu Wenyuan's atmosphere was a little stiff. He was about to speak out to enlighten him when he saw several men who were not very strong pushing a wheelbarrow loaded with goods forward. He said to Wang Xiaotong: "That car only has one wheel, but it is full of goods." The men pushing the carts didn’t look strong, so it’s really curious that they were able to push so much cargo.”
When Wang Xiaotong saw those cars parked on the street to rest, he said to Wang Tong: "Zhong Yan, go find someone to come and ask."
"Here!" Wang Tongce immediately stepped forward, exchanged a few words with the 'minorities', and then invited the middle-aged man over.
"Distinguished guest, what do you want to know?" The middle-aged man was a blond, blue-eyed, powerful man. He saluted Wang Xiaotong and Xu Wenyuan with a smile on his face, and spoke in Chinese with a thick exotic accent. Say hello.
Xu Wenyuan and Wang Xiaotong proudly said nothing, then smiled and cupped their hands: "This brother is very different from me in the Sui Dynasty, but I don't know where he is from?"
"I'm Persian!" The middle-aged man cupped his hands and asked with a smile: "If my guess is correct, this customer must be from the distant Central Plains and has never entered the store?"
Xu Wenyuan said in surprise: "I am indeed from the Central Plains, but how do you know that I have never entered the store?"
"Actually, it's not surprising." The middle-aged man smiled and said: "Every year, many businessmen from the Western Regions go to Liangzhou and Guanzhong, and some also go to the Central Plains. Therefore, only people from far away Bashu and Jiangnan are not familiar with us. . Listening to your accent, it should be Luoyang Yayan, so I judged that your honor is from the Central Plains. People who have gone shopping and entered stores are no strangers to us, so I also judged that your honor is rare. People shopping and entering stores.”
"Brother, you have good eyesight! My hometown is Yanshi, Yuzhou in the Central Plains. Although I have lived in Guanzhong and Bingzhou, I have never gone shopping or entered a store." Xu Wenyuan agreed with his judgment, and then asked: "But I don't know Liang How many Western Region merchants are there in the state?"
"It's hard to say!" said middle-aged Hu Shang, "but I know that there are hundreds of thousands of foreign business travelers traveling to and from Liangzhou alone."
Xu Wenyuan asked again: "Isn't King Wei afraid that these hundreds of thousands of people will cause rebellion?"
"Who dares?" The middle-aged Hu Shang laughed when he heard this: "We came all the way to the Sui Dynasty with the purpose of making money. But we only made one trip back and forth, and the profits we made were enough for the whole family to spend a lifetime, so why make trouble?"
"Aren't you afraid of such valuable goods being robbed halfway?" Xu Wenyuan asked in surprise.
"Security in Liangzhou is very good. There are almost no bandits and bandits. The security in the Western Region is a little worse. However, as long as we put the flag of the Sui Dynasty on our car, even the most ferocious horse thieves will give way."
"Hiss~" Xu Wenyuan and Wang Xiaotong couldn't help but gasped. Can a mere flag of the Sui Dynasty make the vicious horse thieves give way? This is something they never dreamed of.
Xu Wenyuan was shocked, pleased and proud, but more importantly, he was curious and unbelievable. He asked excitedly: "Are the horse thieves from outside the country also afraid of the Sui Dynasty?"
"That's not what you said!" After the middle-aged man sorted out his words, he said: "The Western Regions, the Western Turks, and the Tiele tribe all fear the great God of War. They are afraid of the great God of War settling accounts, so as long as they see someone... The caravans with the "Sui" flag will be protected. If a caravan with the "Sui" flag is attacked by horse thieves, they will send out an army to wipe out the horse thief. Over time, the horse thieves will all know that they have the "Sui" flag. The caravan was not easy to mess with, so we didn’t dare to attack.”
"..." Xu Wenyuan and Wang Xiaotong looked at each other.
"God of War? The God of War you mentioned is referring to our King Wei of the Sui Dynasty?" The person who asked this question was Li Jiancheng, the prince of Tang Guogong next to Wang Tong. Li Jiancheng's uncle was Wang Yu, the head of the Wang family in Taiyuan, and he himself He is Wang Yu's son-in-law, so he came to see the fun and gain knowledge in the name of a relative of the Wang family.
"Yes, King Wei is the greatest god of war on the Silk Road. The ferocious Turks, Tiele people, and people from the Western Regions are like lambs in front of him. They are not even qualified to be slaves." Hu Shang said proudly : "The countries in the Western Region are controlled by the Western Turks and Tiele, and the khans of the Western Turks and Tiele are in great awe of the great God of War, so they only need to see a caravan with a flag with the word 'Sui' , will protect them to prevent the God of War from settling accounts with them. Over time, the horse thieves also know that the caravans with the 'Sui' flag cannot be provoked, and once they are provoked, they will be attacked by the armies of various countries."
At this point, the Hu merchant asked doubtfully: "Looking at your attire and demeanor, you should be the most noble nobles in the Sui Dynasty, but you don't even know the deeds of your own God of War. It's really incredible. Oh my God……"
"..." Everyone was embarrassed and embarrassed. This was the first time in their lives that they were despised by a merchant or a foreign merchant.
However, considering the nature of respecting strong foreigners and the brutal killings of Turks by Yang Ji in recent years, one can understand that it is completely normal for Yang Ji to have such a formidable reputation in the Western Regions.
After Hu Shang left, Li Jiancheng smiled bitterly and said to Wang Tong: "Brother Wang, this is the first time I know that I am so ignorant."
"They are looking for a living in Liangzhou, so they naturally spare no effort to praise King Wei. The barbarians only admire force, how can they know the vastness of the world and the righteousness of the world? King Wei is the god of war in their eyes, how do they know that King Wei is notorious in the Central Plains? "Wang Tong snorted coldly and walked forward.
A mess?
Li Jiancheng looked at Wang Tong's back and couldn't help but sigh and shake his head. It might have happened in a year or two, but today it has been mixed with praise and praise! If he takes advantage of the Silk Road to turn Liangzhou into the most prosperous state, who will say that he has a bad reputation in the future?
Maybe, but they are also nobles and nobles, not a large number of poor families and common people.
Along the way, the group stopped talking and watched the scenery of Zhangye. Along the road, we stopped a group of barbarians and ethnic minority people to ask questions. These people did not speak smoothly, but they proudly regarded themselves as people of the Sui Dynasty. They were even ashamed to mention their original race. After detailed understanding, I found out that most of these people were They were all slaves who had made meritorious service. They were soldiers of the Turks and Tuyuhun before, but now, no one is willing to admit their former race and country. If they were asked more carefully, these people would almost fall out.
After everyone walked for a long time, Xu Wenyuan said to Wang Xiaotong: "King Wei once mentioned the term 'Celestial Kingdom' in the past. Today, seeing the magnanimity and pride of the Hu people who are proud to be the people of the Sui Dynasty, we know what the Celestial Kingdom is!" "
Wang Xiaotong didn't answer, but just watched the scenery on both sides of the street silently.
Along the way, they have met too many 'minorities' who are proud of their identity as people of the Sui Dynasty, and they have also seen the desire of many foreigners for the people of the Sui Dynasty.
From this point of view alone, Yang Ji has accomplished many things that the sages wanted to do but could not. It can also be seen from this that the policy of blindly being gentle towards foreign races is really unfeasible.
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