"My lord, it's already midnight, it's time to get up and go to court." The next day, before dawn, Liu Rumei called softly by the couch. These days, the baby in her belly has been very noisy, which has completely messed up her work and rest time; today , she had already woken up and asked Yang Ji to get up.
Today is the 15th day of September when the Shuo Dynasty is held, which is far more grand than the Chang Dynasty held every day; whether it is a capital official or a local official; whether it is a civil servant official with actual duties, or an honorary official, casual official, or nobility official without actual duty ', as long as your level reaches the ninth level, you must participate.
There were so many people participating in the Wangshuo Chao meeting that the Xuanzheng Hall, which held the regular dynasty, could not accommodate it, so the Shuo Chao and the Wangchao held on the first day of the lunar month were moved to the wider and larger Daye Hall; the time remained the same, but there were many participants and strict inspections , so everyone has to leave early.
Normally, Yang Ji would have gotten up to practice martial arts and read books, but with two more little ones at home, his routine was also messed up. Although there were maids and nuns watching, they were his own children after all, so he couldn't let go. .
Hearing the words at this time, he woke up from the warm and fragrant soft jade, turned his eyes and glanced at Xiao Ying and Pei Shuying who were lying on the bed. Under the dim light, the two elegant beauties had messy temples, fragrant cheeks, and jade. Her face is as bright as the moon, her eyelashes are tightly closed, and she sleeps very sweetly.
They are the mothers of their children and work harder than Yang Ji!
Without disturbing them, Yang Ji got up and went outside to wash up and change into court clothes!
With a big belly, Liu Rumei helped her husband do his hair, put on the crown, and asked softly: "Master, should we have breakfast at home, or should we go to the palace?"
Compared with the court meetings of the Ming Dynasty, the Sui Dynasty was much more humane.
It is said that the ministers of the Ming Dynasty had to get up at midnight every day and wait from three o'clock in the morning to five o'clock in the morning before they could enter the palace. Then there was a very strict inspection. During this long waiting period, if any official accidentally coughed or made a sound, he would be Anyone who steps unsteadily will be recorded by the censor responsible for picketing and will be dealt with. Yang Ji didn't know whether it was true or not, but the morning court in the Sui Dynasty was very casual. As long as you arrived at the venue of the court meeting before Chen time, that is, before seven o'clock in the morning, the Yushi Yanguan would not care about you. In addition, there is a delicious and delicious breakfast for you every day; there is no need to worry about where to go to the toilet.
Generally speaking, Yang Ji would go to the palace to have free breakfast, but Liu Rumei still asked "nonsense".
As Liu Rumei expected, Yang Ji, who had already stood up, replied without hesitation: "Is that necessary? Of course I'm going to eat the free breakfast."
"By the way, you are about to give birth. You have to recharge your batteries and don't work so hard." Yang Ji walked a few steps and then turned back to warn him.
"Here!" Liu Rumei pursed her lips and smiled, watching her husband leave.
Yang Jixing went to the front yard, met Yin Shishi, Li Jing and others who had been waiting for a long time, and rushed to the palace together.
At this time, the low and huge dawn bells echoed over the capital. Horse-drawn carriages and ox-carts, and countless officials on horseback gathered from all directions towards Tianjie. The orange-red lanterns hanging on the shafts of the carriages were like floating lights, matching the night sky. They complement each other like fire dragons.
The group arrived at the Zetian Gate, the south gate of the palace city, before dawn. In front of us is a surging crowd of people. In the square where thousands of officials had gathered, the wind from Luoshui blew hard, giving the square a chill in the morning. Large lanterns were hung all around, swaying in the wind, illuminating the square like daylight.
The officials lined up neatly to be inspected, but officials from the third rank and above had privileges and could enter through the side doors on both sides of the main entrance, so Yang Ji could pass through unimpeded, but Yin Shishi and others did not have this treatment. They We can only queue up honestly.
In this regard, Yang Ji was helpless.
Say goodbye to everyone, and walk north along Zetianmen Street in the Imperial City, all the way to Shangdong Pavilion, the tea room next to Daye Hall.
Those who are qualified to rest and have breakfast here are all the core people of the Sui Dynasty; of course, if a ninth-grade official breaks in, the chamberlains and maids serving important ministers will not say anything, but you, a person with "weird" clothes When you come in alone, what do the big shots inside think of you?
Even if everyone doesn’t say anything, the officials of this faction will feel embarrassed and dislike you and alienate you. The officials of other factions will despise and humiliate you and your "leader", and then they will secretly say "no rules" deep in their hearts. , pulling you into the "blacklist". So instead of asking for trouble, it is better to recognize your position, stick to the default rules, and behave with your tail between your legs.
As for privately, as long as you are talented and make sense, even if those knowledgeable "leaders" and "lords" are unhappy, they will probably not liquidate you afterwards; and what you get is far better than what you get here. There are many more heads.
The so-called argument that people with high talents can be domineering and do whatever they want will not work in the "Great Sui" court where there are many rules.
Even if you are a child of an aristocratic family, it won’t work!
Just because the family wants to save face, you will never be allowed to rebel in front of many high-ranking officials, so as not to lose face to the family.
In a nutshell: as long as you are in this circle and your status is not high enough, you must abide by the rules of this circle, otherwise it will be harmful to yourself.
Yang Ji glanced from the door and saw that there were either prime ministers, ministers, ministers, generals, generals, or princes, princes, and princes inside. Familiar faces abounded.
General Yuan Shou of Zuo Yiwei was talking to a group of Guanlong noble officials. When he saw Yang Ji coming in, a cold light of resentment flashed in his eyes. When they were discussing military reform at the Ministry of War office in Daxing Palace, he provoked Yang Ji In the end, the beating failed, but he was beaten violently; and when Yang Ji poured a pot of scalding tea, all his hair fell out, and his face became red here and there, completely disfigured.
Considering the grievances he had with his family, how could he not feel resentful towards Yang Ji? The bigger Yang Ji became, the stronger the resentment in his heart became, but Yang Ji's status was not comparable to his. Even though he had sworn hatred in his heart, Yuan Shou did not dare to be as provocative as before, lest he be punished by Yang Ji again.
Yang Ji entered and immediately attracted everyone's attention. The people who wanted to come up to talk were already ready to move. However, Yang Ji was like a lone traveler. After entering, he sat down and enjoyed the breakfast served by the palace maid as if there was no one else around.
"Your Majesty, there's no room, let's share a table." Just as Yang Ji was feasting, Changsun Cheng came over with a tray and sat down opposite Yang Ji unceremoniously.
His military position is still that of General Youxiaowei, his honorary title is that of General, his title is that of Duke of the County, and he also has civilian and military officials, and they are not low. The reason why he has been unable to be promoted to the official position is that the official position is limited and the competition between various forces is fierce. His brother Changsun Chi is not bad at all and has occupied a high position for a long time. In this way, Zhang Suncheng's personal interests were 'sacrificed' by the family.
"It doesn't matter!" Yang Ji looked at it and was speechless. There were empty tables all around. How could he say "no place"? However, Changsun Cheng was good friends with his father, and he was also a good friend. When the two of them plotted against East Turkestan, they had the intention of meeting each other late.
Suddenly, Yang Ji noticed that Changsun Cheng's gray hair had turned black again, and his complexion and energy were much better than before. He smiled and asked, "General Changsun's complexion is much better than before. He seems to be younger..."
"Really?" Changsun Cheng sat down happily and said, "Last year I met a Taoist priest in Zhongnan Mountain. He prescribed a health prescription for me. I have been taking it so far and I feel pretty good."
"What's the Taoist's name?" Yang Ji asked.
Changsun Cheng said: "My name is Sun Simiao."
"So it's him!" Although Yang Ji had never met Sun Simiao, he had admired his name for a long time.
"Why, your Majesty also knows this person?" Changsun Cheng asked.
Yang Ji shook his head: "I heard Xiao Shangshu say that his and Princess Lanling's child was saved by Sun Simiao. But I have never seen him."
"That's right! The little girl Guanyin also took this prescription and is now as strong as an ordinary child." Changsun Cheng glanced at Yang Ji meaningfully, raised his eyebrows and said, "The king also has a son. We said that in Furong Tower back then. Isn’t it time for the incident to come to an end?”
Yang Ji didn't want a good daughter-in-law like Guanyin to fly into the Li family. The elder Sun Cheng still remembered this and said with a smile: "I remember that Guanyin was born in the first year of Renshou, and she is five years older than my Hao'er... "
"The female junior is holding the gold medal." Zhang Suncheng interrupted Yang Ji with a smile, and then said: "The female junior, that means she has all the gold and silver bricks. What do you think?"
Yang Ji nodded with a smile and said to Changsun Cheng: "After I go back, I will ask someone to pick an auspicious day, and then the princess and I will go to the house with Hao'er to settle the matter. What do you think?"
Although the Changsun family is also a member of the Guanlong nobles, their strength is relatively weak. Among the countless wealthy Guanlong nobles, they are at least in the middle and lower ranks. Not only are they inconspicuous, but they are also deeply trusted and relied upon by the emperors of the two dynasties. Not only would he and Changsun Cheng be married as sons and daughters, not only would he not arouse the emperor's dissatisfaction, the emperor might also take the opportunity to strengthen the relationship between the two parties and make the Changsun family obedient for his own use.
Changsun Cheng was overjoyed when he heard this. There were only a few members of the royal family, and both men and women were in high demand. Yang Ji had extraordinary abilities and outstanding achievements, and he had great power at a young age. Not only is he deeply trusted by the emperor, but he also has foreign aid such as the Lanling Xiao family and the Wenxi Pei family. As long as he does not commit suicide, the Weiwang line will surely flourish. Who wouldn’t like such a “father-in-law”? He raised his teacup and said, "Then it's settled!"
"It's settled!" Yang Ji also raised his tea cup and touched it with him.
In a few words, the two settled on their children's marriage.
Changsun Cheng also stopped mentioning his children's marriage, and turned to Yang Ji and said: "The sage Linglibu and Honglu Temple jointly established the Western Regions Department to take charge of Western affairs. The Western Regions Department is also fully responsible for national communication. Does your Majesty know about this Western Regions Department?"
"I proposed this, so of course I know." After Yang Ji finished speaking, he glanced at Changsun Cheng curiously: "What's wrong? Can't you take charge of the Western Regions Division?"
"Exactly! I am now the envoy to the Western Regions. The previous post of Turkic envoy has been taken over by Shi Xiang, the minister of Honglu Temple." Speaking of this, Changsun Cheng sighed: "But the imperial court is for the surrounding countries in the Western Regions. They also have only a partial understanding of it; and in the farther west, at most they only know the name of the country, but they don’t know much about its interior.”
"So the sage asked me to go to Zhangye, Liangzhou to set up a branch first, collect various information nearby, and lay the foundation for opening more Silk Road routes in the future. But I will definitely not have too many manpower, and I will have to trouble the king to provide convenience. .”
The stationing of the Western Regions Division will inevitably take away part of the diplomatic power of the Liangzhou Prefecture. The relationship between children and relatives is of no use in the face of real power and interests. If Yang Ji and his subordinates feel unhappy and uncooperative, they will It will be difficult to open the situation. Therefore, he wanted to test Yang Ji's attitude.
"They are all serving the country, and there is no need to worry about it. What's more, I initiated this matter, so naturally I will not stand idly by." Yang Ji said with a smile: "When you go to Zhangye, the state pastoral office and state officials will definitely Fully cooperate."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Zhang Suncheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief after receiving the promise from the leaders of the "King Wei Clan and Liangzhou Clan".
Yang Ji smiled and said nothing. He also knew what Changsun Cheng was worried about, but there were some things that he knew well and there was no need to explain them too clearly.
Changsun Cheng felt a little sorry for Yang Ji's generosity. He suddenly thought of something that might be beneficial to Yang Ji. Seeing that there was no one around, he whispered: "Your Majesty, I have something to say. Maybe this is the right thing to do." It’s what the king needs.”
Seeing Chang Sun Cheng's mysterious look, Yang Ji's heart moved and he asked softly: "What's the matter?"
"I have been a Turkic envoy for decades and have certain connections in the north. I know some secrets from these people." Changsun Chengyu lowered his voice and said, "General Yuwenshu was a powerful family in the Sui Dynasty. The Yuwen family There are huge caravans traveling from south to north. Last year, Ziyu Wenhe purchased a large amount of commercial goods from Jiangnan, Luoyang, and Daxing. He went north from Guanzhong Luoshui Road and sold them to the grassland via Fengzhou. When the goods were declared to the customs, they were nominally ordinary. Items are not banned by the imperial court, but according to my people's careful observation, there is something fishy about it. Now, Yu Wenhuaji has a very good relationship with Fengzhou General Manager Yu Juluo, and Yu Wenhuaji, if he takes action, it is also suspicious. Quite generous!"
At the beginning of the founding of the Sui Dynasty, the Turkic Khanate was a behemoth that could not be offended. Yang Jian could not help but use the Turkic Khanate to cause trouble and attack the new Sui Dynasty. Therefore, in terms of trade, he continued the strategy of the Northern Zhou Dynasty and tried his best to meet the needs of the Turks. , not only was there no such thing as contraband at that time. They even let officials sell strategic materials such as salt, iron, and grain in border markets. [@'Piaoran Xingtianxia': See the end of the chapter]
In the third year of Emperor Kaihuang's reign when Yang Shuang defeated Sabolo Khan, Yang Shangxi, then Minister of War, who proposed the concept of "Five Provinces and Six Ministries", saw that the Sui army had dispelled the Turks' arrogance, and the Great Sui Dynasty The Sui Dynasty also had the strength and ability to defeat all invading enemies. Knowing that the time was ripe to ban trade with the Turks, he put forward the suggestion that "no grain of rice or an inch of troops (weapons) should enter the grassland." This policy was supported by Yang Jian and the civil and military people. It was unanimously agreed and the edict was issued that "any person who sells illegal items will be charged with treason and collaboration with the enemy."
Following weapons and equipment, iron and copper, and grain, oil, salt, cloth, medicinal materials and other items soon became banned.
As for luxury goods such as silk, silk, porcelain, fine wine, jade, and jewelry, they are used in exchange for gold, silver, cattle, sheep, horses, and leather from the grassland. However, this is mainly done by the government. Although merchants can also sell it, they have to go up. Pay border trade taxes to use as military expenses for border troops.
When Chang Sun Cheng proposed the strategic policy of "diplomating far away and attacking closely, separating from the strong and joining forces with the weak; using barbarians to control barbarians and dividing the Turks", he supported Qimin Khan as an "agent" for the interests of the Sui Dynasty; the Sui Dynasty opened the door to trade to Qimin Khan. The Sui Dynasty sold whatever he needed that was detrimental to Bujia Khan.
In the third year of Renshou, Bujia Khan led his army southward, trying to conquer Liangzhou. In order to rescue Yang Ji, Yang Jian and Yang Guang ordered Qimin Khan to march from the east to share Yang Ji's pressure. However, Qimin Khan went to work The lack of effort aroused the dissatisfaction of the court. When the imperial court took stock of Qimin Khan's family one by one, he suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. It turned out that Qimin Khan had quietly amassed hundreds of thousands of troops, so he began to close the border again.
However, the "merchants" who are called merchants but are actually slaves of aristocratic families, backed by a powerful force with many disciples and disciples, are not afraid of the imperial ban at all, and continue to pass the customs in the name of ordinary things, while what they sell are actually all. It’s a forbidden thing that makes a lot of money.
"Yu Juluo? I remember." Yang Ji frowned. If he remembers correctly, this famous general made Yang Guang angry because he enriched the country at a critical moment. In addition, the officials in charge of the trial made use of the topic. After collecting a large amount of so-called "criminal evidence", Yu Juluo was beheaded in public.
Of course, Yang Guang was the main reason for executing Yu Juluo, but it is a fact that Yu Juluo was greedy for money. If he had not done anything to jeopardize the country's wealth, Yang Guang would have no reason to kill him.
Yang Ji knew that Yang Guang valued Yu Juluo now, and he himself did not want this famous general to go down the road of no return, so he decided to remind Yi Er. Whether he obeyed or not had nothing to do with Yang Ji.
As for Yu Wenshu, he was the largest iron merchant in the world. The items that his father and his son sold to the Turks were undoubtedly the iron that Qimin Khan needed. However, Yang Ji is no longer interested in Yuwenshu himself. He is now interested in the more complicated chain of interests behind Yuwenshu——
Pig iron is extremely heavy. If pig iron is hidden in a car, people can tell the authenticity of the item from the depth of the ruts. However, when the Yuwen family caravan went north, although there were officials from the "Yuwen faction" to help them, there were also officials from other factions.
When Yuwenshu gained power, officials from other factions did not dare to offend him, perhaps pretending not to know and let him go. However, Yuwenshu has "lost power" now, and during the military reform process, he offended all the Guanlong nobles, and those Guanlong nobles I wish he would die. However, the noble officials of Guanlong not only did not embarrass the caravan headed by Yu Wenhua, but instead allowed the caravan to be transported to the grassland safely.
There must be something fishy in this!
However, the results of this profit industry chain, which is similar to the "Sui traitor", cannot be found out in a short time, and it needs to be laid out slowly.
Changsun Cheng saw Yang Ji thoughtful and knew that he had already made a calculation. After thinking about it, he provided another piece of information: "Your Majesty, the Yuwen family's supply of goods mainly comes from the south; since the Tongji Canal connects the north and the south, famous families from the south have come one after another. He settled down in Luoyang and visited Yuwen's family frequently."
Yang Ji wrote down the matter, pondered for a long time, and then asked: "I arrived in Luoyang not long ago, and I don't know much about the situation here. I want to know about the situation of the salt merchants in the south. Have they made any movements recently? After all, salt is also The Turks are extremely short of things!"
Changsun Cheng's expression paused, and he lowered his voice and said, "I have also heard some sporadic rumors about this matter, but I don't know whether they are true or not. Please make your own decision, Your Majesty."
"Please speak?" Yang Ji nodded and gestured.
Changsun Cheng said: "Chen Zhiwei, the staff member of the Prince of Qi's Palace, is from the royal family of the Chen Dynasty. He has close contacts with the famous families and salt merchants in the south."
Yang Ji nodded silently.
Yang Jian, that idiot, was probably shunned by his government aides in some respects, and his "confidants" were using his name to do illegal things.
"Dang, Dang, Dang!" At this time, the bell of Daxing Hall rang, echoing melodiously over the palace city. This was the bell signaling the emperor and his ministers to enter the palace. The ministers in the cabinet stood up one after another and walked to Daxing Hall. The day-to-day meetings are about to begin.
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[@'piaoranxingtianxia': This "meaning" is correct, and your usage of "meaning" is incorrect. I have replied to you countless times, but you seem to have a sworn hatred for "meaning" , but have been turning a blind eye. I understand that you hate this word, but please stop misleading others. 】
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