While the monarch and his ministers were discussing, an eunuch from outside entered the palace and said, "Sage, King Wei is asking for an audience outside the palace."
As soon as this statement came out, not only Yang Guang was surprised, but Yang Xiong, Yang Su, Su Wei, and Xiao Cong were also deeply surprised. He thought secretly: If King Wei is not in Binzhou to organize his army, why should he go to the palace to meet the emperor?
"Let him come in." Yang Guang originally considered waiting for a while to summon Yang Ji to discuss the Binzhou Army, but he did not expect that he would take the initiative to meet him.
Not long after, Yang Ji entered the Qianqiu Hall, cupped his hands and said, "See the saint."
"The Vajra slave is here." A smile appeared on Yang Guang's face.
Seeing this, the four prime ministers sighed in unison.
This is the emperor's close ministers, such as Meng Yi of Qin Shihuang, Huo Qubing of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, and King Wei Zhao of Emperor Gaozu Wen. They are all different from ordinary people and have great favor and trust.
Yang Ji cupped his hands and said, "I have something important to report to the sage."
Yang Guang asked: "What's the matter?"
"Saint, hundreds of cut-off soldiers from the Liquan Army gathered at the Xianyang Beijing Army Temporary Office. It is said that soldiers from the Shangyi Army, Wannian Army, Chang'an Army, and Fuping Army also rushed to Xianyang in groups. ." Yang Ji repeated Liu Tongren's words, and finally said: "I'm worried that if they don't get a satisfactory answer, they will engage in vandalism and robbery."
"What's the situation?" Yang Guang also received news from the secret guards of the Internal Affairs Office in the past few days, saying that there were several troubles in the Xianyang Beijing Military Temporary Office, but this was what he expected. After all, the imperial court is indeed lagging behind in terms of placement, and the soldiers will inevitably be impetuous when they have to give a satisfactory explanation.
"When I came back, I went to Xianyang and asked Dou Gui to send soldiers to control the situation and persuade the generals to return." Yang Ji walked along the Jingshui River. Xianyang is located downstream of the Binzhou Army Camp. He went to the city to have a look. He told Dou Gui about the possibility of mutiny and asked him to send people to persuade the generals in front of the Yamen to return, and the situation was calmed down. However, if the appeal of eliminating the veterans was not responded to, the consequences would be unpredictable.
"Nothing more than soldiers! And those generals who were laid off are mediocre. Besides exploiting soldiers, what else can they do? Now that they are disbanded and returned to their armed forces, it is an act of mercy outside the law. What else do they want?, I, the Great Sui Dynasty Can we still expect them to go into battle to kill the enemy?" At this point, Yang Guang said to Yang Ji: "If this happens again in the future, we will only punish him severely and never tolerate it."
Yang Ji solemnly said: "Sage, as many as hundreds of thousands of generals, commanders, and soldiers have been reduced, many of whom are residents of the capital. I'm worried that if this continues, more and more people will be dissatisfied, and eventually the people in the capital will suffer. Public security brings bad variables.”
Yang Guang's face also turned cold and he remained silent.
Seeing Yang Guang's ugly face, Xiao Cong quickly winked at Yang Ji, took over the conversation and said: "King Wei, you have been ordered to rectify the Binzhou Army and rectify the Binzhou Army's responsibilities. At this time, Liquan and other troops are causing trouble. Your duty is to manage the Binzhou Army well, and don’t let the veterans of the Binzhou Army go to Xianyang to surround them."
The implication is that you just need to do your part, why are you intervening so much?
Yang Ji heard what his brother-in-law was saying and knew that he was doing it for his own good, but he still retorted: "Xiao Xiang, I am indeed only responsible for rectifying the Binzhou Army. If the reduced soldiers of the Binzhou Army cause trouble, I will also I won’t shirk my responsibility. It’s just that there are more than 100,000 soldiers who have been laid off from the other 13 battalions. These veterans are all tough soldiers who have been on the battlefield and have seen blood, and they don’t have much sense of right and wrong. If they are criticized by others, Get up and the problem becomes serious.”
Xiao Cong frowned and said: "I don't know much about military affairs, but my ministers all perform their duties and fulfill their duties, so that the Sui Dynasty can achieve peace in all parts of the world. Since King Wei is in charge of the Binzhou Army, I believe that we can only work diligently and fulfill our duties."
Yang Ji frowned, why is this brother-in-law never finished? But after thinking for a moment, Yang Ji already understood Xiao Cong's good intentions: first, he deliberately accused him of having a hand in everything, so as to resolve the emperor's possible doubts; second, during the bickering process, he brought the hidden dangers to the table one by one. , so that the emperor would be alert.
Thinking of this, he pretended to be unhappy and said: "Xiao Xiang, these hundreds of thousands of soldiers have become a heavy burden for the imperial court. If they just make trouble in Xianyang, it doesn't matter. If the soldiers from the capital are colluded, He got up and surrounded the palace. At that time, how did the people of the world view the imperial court? How did foreign envoys view me, the Sui Dynasty?"
Yang Guang was startled when he heard the words "envoy from a foreign country", and he also looked squarely at the problem Yang Ji raised.
The Sui Dynasty was about to move its capital. In order to show the power of the Sui Dynasty, he invited all the surrounding countries to watch the ceremony. Now many kings and envoys from the Western Regions have arrived, and the King of Persia, Khosrow II, who is far away in the far west We are also on the road; if the Sui Dynasty causes any farce of soldiers surrounding the palace at this time, then the Sui Dynasty will be disgraced and sent abroad. (Note)
Seeing that Yang Ji and Xiao Cong had a "dispute", Yang Su's eyes moved slightly, and he tried to smooth things over. He cupped his hands to Yang Guang and said: "Sage, King Wei's concerns are not unreasonable. The court still needs to arrange the Beijing troops as soon as possible." Reducing the soldiers, and showing reason to the disarmed generals, and moving them with emotion. If trouble breaks out, how will foreign envoys treat me, the Sui Dynasty?"
Yang Guang said nothing about the tit-for-tat confrontation between Yang Ji and Xiao Cong, and no one helped him. He said directly to Yang Su: "What Duke Yue said is true. We must not stop eating because of choking. According to the strategy of selecting the front line of the Beijing army and the effectiveness of checking the vacancies, The number of old and weak soldiers we will eventually eliminate is only the current number of over 100,000, and the pressure from the imperial court is not too great."
After saying that, he looked at Su Wei and said in a deep voice: "Mr. Su, please ask the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Civil Affairs to resettle these people as soon as possible. We must not make them dissatisfied and cause trouble."
"I will obey the Holy Order." Su Wei's expression did not change, but his heart was extremely angry. He said angrily: "Sage, I do have the money to place the old soldier, but I have two concerns."
Yang Guang waved his hand and said, "Mr. Su, please speak!"
"Sage!" Su Wei said: "My first concern is that there are not enough manpower in the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Civil Affairs. How can we settle more than 100,000 people and more than 100,000 households as soon as possible with the current few people? The second is that they They are rude, disrespectful, and ignorant of justice. If the imperial court pays them resettlement fees, it is impossible for them to live up to their desires and make every effort possible."
When Yang Ji heard this, he couldn't help but secretly cursed as "an old treacherous person"!
As Shangshu Zuopushe, Su Wei was in charge of the officials, people, and ritual departments. However, the situation created by Yu Wenshu was too difficult. Su Wei clearly saw that the situation was at the critical point of riot, so he did not want to take over this mess. , simply throw away these two so-called "concerns."
As for who cares? Naturally, it was Yang Su, the minister.
Yang Su used to be Youpu She, in charge of the military, criminal, and industrial ministries. After he was promoted to Shangshu Ling, the position of Youpu She was vacant. As a result, Yang Su is still performing the duties of Youpu She to this day.
Yang Guang glanced at Su Wei coldly, then turned to Yang Ji and asked, "Vajra slave, what do you think?"
"Su Gong's first concern is the lack of manpower. In fact, this problem can be easily solved by letting the reserve officials under the Ministry of Personnel help." Yang Ji said: "These reserve officials receive the salary from the court and are waiting hard for the government's salary. If you have nothing to do all day long, you can ask them to assist. Whoever performs well in the process of resettling retired veterans will be given priority by the court for appointment. If they cannot do even this little thing well, it means they are not suitable for office."
Yang Guangshen agreed and said: "Being an official depends on your ability to manage affairs. If an official does not understand practical matters, even if he goes to a local official position, he will be deceived by cunning and subordinate officials, which will be of no benefit to the country and the people."
This principle was also realized by Yang Guang when he was a local official. When he heard what Yang Ji said, he felt a few words.
"The words of the sage are very true. As the saying goes, what you learn on paper will only make you realize it. You must know that you have to practice it. Whether it is studying or being an official, it all depends on applying what you learn and integrating knowledge and action." Yang Ji Said: "If the reserve officials are not enough, you can ask the scholars from the Imperial College to help and take the opportunity to cultivate their ability to govern."
Yang Su's eyes lit up, and he murmured, "What you read on paper is shallow, but you know you have to do it." He smiled and said, "Every word of King Wei's poem is precious, and every word is difficult. It's really true." Thought-provoking aphorisms.”
Yang Ji smiled, ignored it, and then brought up Su Wei's second concern: "There may be people like Su Wei who are insatiable and pushy, but such people are mostly ambitious generals, but in Among the 120,000 officers and soldiers cut out, there are at most 24 generals, 120 lieutenants, 600 captains, and 1,200 brigade commanders. The total number is 1,940. Fourteen people, if we ignore the officers who have been arrested for committing crimes, then there are about 1,340 people. As long as the court gathers these people, the leaderless ordinary soldiers will not be able to cause trouble. And ordinary soldiers are easy to be satisfied, as long as the court arranges them Get it right and they’ll settle down.”
Mutiny?
Before the heavy iron fist comes down, everyone will be lucky. But if you catch a bunch of thorns first, the rest will naturally not dare to make trouble.
If a person wants to negotiate terms with the court more aggressively, he must do so unless he no longer wants to live.
"Forget it!" Yang Guang nodded and told Yang Su and Su Wei: "Yue Gong, Su Gong, after you two go down, immediately organize officials from the six departments of Shangshu Province to handle this matter."
"Old minister, I obey!" Yang Su and Su Wei accepted the order.
Yang Guang pondered for a long time, took out a golden arrow, and said to Yang Xiong: "The concerns of King Kong Nu must not be ignored; Brother Wang, you are temporarily in charge of the patrol army of Weiwei Temple and the left and right Houwei (later Jinwu Guards). Let the retired veterans cause trouble in the city."
"Old minister, I obey!" Yang Xiong stepped forward and took the golden arrow respectfully.
Seeing that Yang Guang had made arrangements, Yang Ji cupped his hands and said, "Sage, if there is nothing else, will I go back?"
He has reminded them one by one, and left the rest to the court. As a right-guard general, he only needs to take care of the Binzhou Army and protect himself.
"Wait!" Yang Guang suddenly thought of Yu Wenshu's previous memorial, and asked curiously: "I heard that you have also organized an army in Binzhou recently. How is the training of the newly established ninth battalion of soldiers? Can they fight? ?”
Yang Ji replied: "The nine battalions of the Binzhou Army are all disorganized and reorganized armies. They are not yet familiar with each other. They are in a situation where the soldiers do not know the generals and the generals do not know the soldiers. They are currently training formations and military drills." Formation, but after all, they are an army that has fought hundreds of battles. As long as they pass this stage of running-in, their combat effectiveness will gradually increase. If they want to return to their peak level, they will have to wait until at least the beginning of next spring."
The ninth battalion of the Binzhou Army has indeed been disrupted and reorganized. After more than ten days of training, the combat level may not be as good as before, but the military appearance has begun to appear impressive.
Yang Guang encouraged: "You have your own rules for training troops; since I have handed over the Binzhou Army to you, I won't say more. I will strive to train this army to be the best among the best."
When Yang Ji heard this, he felt awe-inspiring in his heart! I vaguely felt that Yang Guang had other intentions behind his words, especially the words "I have my own rules" and "I don't say much" seemed to be meant to knock him.
In a flash of thought, Yang Ji grasped some key points——
Yuwenshu has done quite well during this period, and his importance in Yang Guang's heart has naturally increased step by step. However, his alienation and indifference towards Yuwenshu on the evening of his return to Beijing probably all fell into Yang Guang's eyes.
They were both relatives and confidants of Yang Guang, and they were doing important things for the court together at this time. Yang Guang naturally didn't want them to mess up the matter because of their personal grudges.
Now that he is saying this, perhaps he thought that Yang Ji was young and energetic, and wanted to compete with Yu Wenshu, so he came all the way from Binzhou to talk about the "mutiny" that had not yet happened, so he advised him to put the overall situation first , don’t engage in Yu Wenshu.
Yang Ji thought about this, but he didn't make any excuses. After all, at this time, he said less and made fewer mistakes, and said more and made more mistakes. From now on, he just immersed himself in doing things. When the time comes, he will let his results speak for himself. He cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, saint."
Yang Guang smiled and said: "I have important matters to discuss with the four prime ministers. You should go back first."
"My farewell!" Yang Ji was very respectful, to show that he had received Yang Guang's "hint". After saying this, he walked out of Qianqiu Palace under the guidance of the chamberlain.
As he walked on the road to the palace, he looked back at the solemn Daxing Palace and couldn't help but sigh: Even though he knew that the emperor would not obey someone's words, he still felt a little, a little disappointed in his heart.
"Just watch!" Yang Ji said silently in his heart, and regained his indifferent attitude.
It was already dusk, but he planned to go to the Ministry of War first to ask about the situation of the thirteen armies in order to prepare for a rainy day.
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[Note: "Book of Sui" records that "the Turks could not reach their country (Persia), so they were restrained." It can be seen that when the Turkic Khanate dominated the world and was arrogant, Persia was also one of the tributary states of the Turkic Khanate; and the above article The mentioned king Kusilao II was the 22nd generation monarch of the Sassanid Dynasty of the Persian Empire. During his lifetime, he visited the Sui Dynasty many times and sent poli, animal souls, corals, colored glazes, agates, water essences, and diamonds. , iron, pepper and other specialties. 】
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