Yang Ji and Xiao Ying's carriage stopped in front of the Xiao Mansion, and Xiao Xun and Xiao Yu came out with their disciples. Although today is not a holiday, Xiao Cong and Xiao Jue also took leave to stay at home because they were celebrating their concubine’s birthday. However, Mrs. Xiao only invited her daughter, son-in-law and grandson, which was very personal. Therefore, Xiao Cong and Xiao Jue, who were high officials in the court, Xiao Rong and Xiao Jing did not go out, but waited in the vestibule behind the screen wall with their daughter Juan. Even the birthday girl, Mrs. Xiao, was also there. From this, it can also be seen that the Xiao family attaches great importance to Yang Ji, the "uncle".
A group of people entered the front hall. When Yang Ji and Xiao Ying held their sons in their arms to wish Mrs. Xiao a happy birthday, she helped them up with a smile on her face: "You are all good children. As long as you and your wife are harmonious and happy, you will be the best for us elders." comfort."
Mrs. Xiao was extremely fond of Yang Ji, her son-in-law. His marriage to her daughter had brought her great honor and raised her status in the Xiao family to a height that was unimaginable in her dreams before. She respected him greatly. The son, a bookworm, even participated in the Xiao family's elders' meeting for the first time six months ago and became a chief steward of the Xiao family. This was something that had never happened before.
The status of their "mother and son" has not only been significantly improved in the Xiao family, but has also attracted the attention of relatives. Today, the Xiao family's sons-in-law Wang Gun, Dou Wei, Hou Mo and Chen Yi specially prepared a generous gift for their wives and children to bring congratulations to. , if her daughter married someone else, she would never have such honor, Mrs. Xiao was secretly grateful.
"Madam!" Seeing that the birthday greetings were over, Xiao Cong ordered his wife: "Take Aying and his mother and son to talk. Wenhui will go to my study. I have something to say to you."
"Here!" Xiao Cong's wife, whose surname was Zhang, was a former queen. She was dignified and dignified. After hearing this, she invited Xiao Ying's mother and son into the inner house to talk, and the Xiao family members dispersed on their own.
The six Xiao Cong brothers invited Yang Ji into the study, and the seven of them sat down. Xiao Cong said to Yang Ji: "Wenhui, one family does not speak the same language as the other. Even if there are some words that are foreign and unpalatable, we should To be honest, what do you think?”
"As it should be!" Yang Ji smiled and nodded. As Xiao Cong said, since we are a family, it is best to be honest about some major matters, lest small misunderstandings accumulate into irreparable rifts. And he also had something to say, and it would be great if Xiao Cong could think so.
"Well! Then I'll ask directly!" Xiao Cong pondered for a long time and said slowly: "This imperial examination came very suddenly. Many people thought it was you who suggested it. Later, the more I thought about it, it was wrong, but what exactly happened? , but the saint hid it. I want to ask you, was it you who proposed the imperial examination?"
In fact, the imperial examination was a grand strategy for the future set by the late emperor. In the seventh year of the founding of the emperor, the late emperor formally established the subject-based examination system to replace the nine-level Zhongzheng system. From then on, the children of the rich and powerful had to compete with others if they wanted to become officials; however, The competition takes place among aristocratic families and dignitaries.
Now, Yang Guang has expanded the scope of candidates for the imperial examination to the entire world. From then on, officials are selected regardless of their family background, and only those who are qualified are selected.
Xiao Cong knew that Yang Guang's big step was actually the general trend. Even if he didn't take this step, some emperor would take it in the future. But the first person to go out will often encounter strong opposition from the old forces in the entire society, and almost never end well. If the imperial examination is the emperor's own decision, then that's it. If it was Yang Ji who suggested it, his future situation might not be good.
Only by clarifying the source can the Xiao family be mentally prepared to avoid being caught off guard and suffering serious consequences in the future. If you ignore it, it will be bad for the Xiao family and Yang Ji.
"That's not true!" Yang Ji shook his head and said, "When Yang Liang rebelled, there were many local powerful and poor families who secretly helped him. The saint realized that this huge group of people who were not enough for the superiors but had more than enough for the inferiors had to 'forbidden by the imperial court' They are quite dissatisfied with the policy of becoming officials. If the imperial court cannot solve the root cause of this dissatisfaction, they will support others to rebel in the future. Rather than letting them become elements of social unrest, it is better to open the door and let the world's literati and warriors serve as the imperial court. Used."
"The success of the martial arts examination has promoted the imperial court's concept of fair selection of talents and meritocracy, and at the same time laid a good foundation for the implementation of the imperial examination. Over the years, scholars from poor families have continued to request the imperial court to launch a national imperial examination. Therefore, the sage thought that opening up a subject and getting scholars was a natural process, so he followed the people's will and followed the trend. It has nothing to do with me."
Although the imperial examination was very sudden, Yang Ji could easily deduce these words through Yang Guang's past actions and previous communications.
When the Xiao brothers heard this, they were shocked.
According to what Yang Ji said, Yang Guang clearly used him to "carry thunder". Although Yang Ji didn't say a word, he had already become "notorious". Now everyone thought that Yang Ji was up to something. The pressure and complaints from the noble families in the world were all falling on Yang Ji; but the emperor felt no pressure at all. nothing.
If the emperor had discussed it with Yang Ji and other important ministers in advance, and then went through the process in the court, then this heavy pressure would have been spread to many ministers, instead of being borne by Yang Ji alone.
Although it is normal for ministers to support the emperor, this pressure is beyond the ability of a minister to bear. More importantly, the traces of the emperor taking advantage of Yang Ji's "notoriety" were too obvious and at the same time too chilling.
After a long silence, Xiao Cong said to Yang Ji: "Wen Hui, your current situation is not very good, do you know?"
"I know!" Yang Ji nodded, smiled and said to Xiao Cong: "I am here today not only to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday, but also to hope that the Xiao family will be 'estranged' from me in the future, especially in terms of political opinions. If I should object, I will object. Attack when it’s time to attack.”
Xiao Cong and Xiao Jue looked at each other. Xiao Cong's eyes were full of admiration. He had been an emperor and knew the emperor's heart and the minister's heart very well. He knew that if Yang Ji did nothing more, he might continue to be... "Detained" in the capital; for their own benefit, the ministers will definitely unite to attack Yang Chong, who has "fallen out of favor", and the nobles in the world will also respond.
And their brothers, Pei Ju, Su Wei, Yang Xiong, Yang Da, Gao Jiong and Yang Ji had a close relationship. If they came forward at a critical moment, the emperor would not only not agree, but would become suspicious and suspicious; in the end, not only would everyone be unable to help Yang Ji actually harmed Yang Ji.
Therefore, the best way for them to help is to either turn a blind eye and sit on the sidelines at the critical moment, or to pretend and follow everyone to attack Yang Ji and isolate Yang Ji without any pain. This is actually a real help.
This is the reason why they decided to "alienate" Yang Ji, but they hope Yang Ji understands the Xiao family's true intention of "alienating" him. Otherwise, the two sides will be truly alienated and opposed. Unexpectedly, Yang Ji actually brought it up himself, which shows that his political wisdom is far higher than everyone imagined.
Now that a consensus has been reached, the next thing will be easier to handle.
"Wenhui, why?" Xiao Xun didn't quite understand what Yang Ji meant.
"'Enemies' and political opponents are sometimes better than friends and relatives." Yang Ji smiled and continued: "It was just that before, but now in everyone's eyes, I have become a major faction in the officialdom. If I continue Being close to my eldest brother, who represents the southern gentry, Prime Minister Pei, who represents the gentry in Hedong, and Prime Minister Su, who represents the gentry in Guanzhong, is not beneficial to anyone, so the superficial alienation and estrangement are necessary."
Hearing this, Xiao Xun finally understood the deep meaning of his eldest brother and sixth brother. He frowned and said: "Wenhui, Su Xiang is fine, but you are the son-in-law of Xiao and Pei. Even if you are alienated on the surface, others may not believe it." ah!"
"This requires how to act." Yang Ji said: "In people's minds, aristocratic families put their own interests first, and personal friendships are secondary. If the interests are sufficient, it is normal to step on relatives and friends. . The Xiao family, the Pei family, and the Su family are the leaders of the three major gentry groups, and at this time, the imperial examination is an excuse, so the words to 'alienate' me at this time are not only timely, but also not out of the ordinary."
In fact, of course Yang Ji also knows that these words are harsh and unpleasant, but the ugly words must be said first. Only by clearly pointing out some of the dirty words; the Xiao family cannot pretend to be ignorant, otherwise, you clearly know that they There is nothing you can do about them by pretending to be stupid.
Originally, he couldn't find a reason to say such things, but Xiao Xun, his brother-in-law, asked about it, so he simply said these unpleasant words together.
Xiao Cong, Xiao Jue, Xiao Jing: "..."
This is absolutely true, but you don’t need to say it in front of us, right?
Xiao Cong was silent for a long time, and then said to Yang Ji: "Wen Hui, when I said you were in a bad situation before, I meant that you had too many enemies in the officialdom, and we, the prime ministers and ministers, could not come forward to help, so you are in the court Above that, there is actually no one you can rely on. But the Saint will not pursue you for anything now, let alone take you down. Because he wants to use you as the vanguard of reform, and only you can be the vanguard of the reform. Apart from you, Besides, he has almost no one available for reform."
"Brother's words make sense!" Xiao Jue on the side added to Yang Ji: "Wen Hui, your biggest reliance is not on saints or your relatives, but on your identity as a pioneer of reform; this identity is your greatest reliance. It is also the key to your settlement. You will be safe only if you continue along the path of reform. Otherwise, you will be a useless abandoned child."
"If things really come to that, your status as prince, military god, and son-in-law of the Xiao family and Pei family will not only not be able to save you, but will be your deadly poison. Do you understand?"
Yang Ji broke into cold sweat when he heard this, and was even more frightened. To be honest, after the two major events of promoting the imperial examination and splitting up the direct lineage, he no longer wanted to be Yang Guang's tool. At this time, after hearing the analysis of the Xiao brothers, he realized how dangerous his idea was.
He stood up, bowed deeply to Xiao Cong and Xiao Jue one after another, and said, "Thank you for your teaching, brother. I understand."
"Wenhui, you can understand, that's the best!" Xiao Cong smiled and said: "Your path of being a lonely minister is actually not a problem. But you are not an ordinary minister with no foundation. You and history There is an essential difference between those lonely ministers. And now, you are not only a prince, but also the most outstanding commander-in-chief of the Sui Dynasty. To put it more seriously, your achievements are a bit shocking; if the saint does not believe in you, how can you desecrate yourself? , No matter how you act as a solitary minister, you can’t regard being a solitary minister as a life-saving talisman. You have to change your thinking slightly. How to do it in the future, it is best to ask your staff first and listen to what they say. "
"God's Coming"
"Another point is that you have done too many things and attacked too many areas, but everything you have done seems to have failed to achieve decisive results. In the long run, not only will you offend all the forces, but even the saints will probably be slow to do so. Slowly doubting your correctness. Therefore, in the future, it is best to plow deeply and take root, rather than hitting here and there with a hammer."
The three generations of Xiliang were all outstanding people. As the remnants of the Southern Xiao Dynasty, they were able to establish a country on their own in a small area, and they were able to survive and live a comfortable life in the cracks of several major forces. This in itself is a manifestation of ability. However, their starting point is too low, just in Jiangling, so that even if they have great talents, they cannot display them.
No matter how hard they try and work hard, the general trend of the world, their own situation and territory, they are destined to be in vain.
It is precisely because of this that Xiao Cong, the last emperor of the Western Liang Dynasty, made the right choice. He took the opportunity to cancel the country's title and surrender to the Sui Dynasty completely, and exchanged his wholehearted loyalty for the survival and development of the Xiao family in the Sui Dynasty.
Xiao Cong was a capable emperor who came out of troubled times. He was accustomed to seeing the various behaviors of his ministers during life and death. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is the first person in the contemporary era to control the power of the court and position the relationship between monarch and ministers; How could Yang Ji be compared with him? Therefore, it is absolutely correct to listen to Xiao Cong’s careful analysis with an open mind.
The important thing is that Yang Ji knew that after Yang Guang became the emperor, the relationship between the Xiao family and him had changed drastically; the Xiao family no longer dared to bet the fate of the family on the emperor as before, but they had interests to pursue. Therefore, when the emperor cannot be trusted and the prince cannot be loyal to the prince prematurely, the best choice is to cooperate with him, Yang Ji.
At this moment, no matter what the Xiao family does, they will never lie to him.
This is actually why the Xiao brothers spoke so frankly.
Xiao Cong saw that Yang Ji was thoughtful and said: "You are a prince who has made many mistakes and made many mistakes if you don't do it. In addition, the Wei Wang family or the Liangzhou family are relatively weak at the foundation. You are not strong enough to deal with certain forces." political power. If you want to do something, and if you encounter any major problems in the future, you can discuss it with us, and then we can work together to do it, which will make you more sure."
The picture shows up!
"Well! If anything happens in the future, I will discuss it with my brothers in detail." Yang Ji nodded. Although he understood that Xiao Cong's words were intended to hope that the Xiao family would benefit from a certain incident, Xiao Cong Cong's idea is not wrong. There are some things that would indeed be better than him if the Xiao family or outsiders came forward.
To put it simply, he must not live alone in the future. Once he has a good "project", he should share it with everyone. The "profit" may be thinner, but the risks are also shared by everyone.
"It's great that Wen Hui thinks so!" Xiao Cong smiled happily: "You can underestimate anyone, but you can't underestimate the saint. Now he is using you to deal with the traditional powerful 'enemy'. , so I won’t argue with you about many things and details. But if you take care of everything, he and other forces will feel stupid."
Yang Ji smiled and nodded!
It was a great conversation!
