Song Zheng originally lived in the palace. Not long after he parted with Murong Sanzang, Li Jing and others, he asked Yang Ji to call him back to the study.
He is also a figure who is famous in history. When he was the magistrate of Raole County, he knew that the Sui Dynasty's rule in Hebei was over, but he still led a few county officials and village warriors to fight Dou Jiande to the end. Although he later fell into Dou Jiande's However, he would rather die than surrender; until the news of Yang Guang's death in Jiangdu came back, he surrendered Dou Jiande in despair, and sacrificed his people's livelihood and other war preparations to stabilize Hebei. Dou Jiande then cited him as the mastermind .
However, Dou Jiande, like all reckless rebels, lost his enterprising spirit after gaining power, and began to become arrogant, self-satisfied, self-respecting, and happy to enjoy himself. He listened to slander and alienated upright ministers such as Song Zhengben. When everyone was silent, Song Zhengben spoke out and remonstrated, but ended up being brutally killed.
In history, although Song Zhengben served two masters, he neither let down Yang Guang, nor Dou Jiande, nor the people. His moral integrity made it impossible for anyone to find fault. For this reason, Yang Ji felt relieved to let him handle the government affairs of Liangzhou and silently exercise the power of state shepherd on his behalf.
Such a person whose ability, loyalty and experience are all top choices, let alone being the governor of a state, is more than enough to enter the imperial court and serve as a minister or a young eunuch. But Yang Ji has no choice now.
Although Liangzhou has gone through several vigorous purges and is in a vacuum period of power, the purges and various new policies have made everything quite transparent, so it seems that it is establishing a stronghold on its own territory, but it is difficult. Bigger than other places. If he rashly arranges for someone to establish a stronghold, the efficient local government that Yang Ji has created may soon find out everything.
On the other hand, it was because of the Li family in Longxi. The traditional powers of the Li family were Weizhou, Qinzhou, and Yuanzhou; while Huizhou, Lanzhou, Hezhou, and Taozhou where Yang Ji was planning to establish a stronghold were right next to the Li family. Although the Tuyuhun, Qiang, Dangxiang Qiang and other ethnic minorities were in trouble in the past, their presence in these four states was not strong. However, after hundreds of thousands of years of development, the Li family has had a great influence on this area. It is not an exaggeration to say that it has penetrated into all aspects and all walks of life. If they noticed that Yang Ji was trying to steal food from their territory, they would definitely report it to the court. By then, the problem would become serious.
Therefore, under the premise that official power cannot be used, only Song Zhengben is the most suitable. There are many dead soldiers and die-hard elements in the house, but in terms of intelligence, overall situation, etc., they are not qualified to be compared with Song Zhengben.
After explaining the purpose and concerns of establishing a stronghold, Yang Ji calmly said to Song Zhengben: "Song Lord Bo, at first, the three of us wanted to develop in secret, but later we all believed that there is no absolute and long-term secret in the world. . Simply relying on hiding will not last long; instead of doing this, it is better to have darkness within the light, and light within the darkness. In this way, someone will support you in the light, which will be conducive to action and development. "
"The two strongholds located near the three prefectures of Yong, Liang and Yi are very important to us, and we cannot let outsiders notice. Ordinary people are not qualified at all. After thinking about it, you are the only one who is the most suitable. Of course, you are not alone. I will send some generals to help you, and you will also be responsible for the Tianmen Yong, Yi, and Liangzhou branches."
"Thanks to the great love of the king, I will not give up my humble position even to the death." Song Zhengben has a stable temperament and is slow to speak. He is not the kind of person who can slap people. After hearing Yang Ji's plan, he stood up and accepted the order without hesitation.
He thought for a while and then asked: "Your Majesty, I don't know where to base my humble position first?"
"I plan to assign you the position of Tongshou. Which state do you think is more suitable?" Tongshou is the second-in-command of a state. He is in charge of laws and supervises local officials' governance and law enforcement. He does not have any real power in the local area. Yang Ji only needs Without intervening in the affairs of the court and interfering in the appointments of governors, ministers, chief historians, and chief ministers, Yang Guang would definitely not care about the idle position of Taozhou Tongshou.
"My favorite is Taozhou. Taozhou is not only close to Tuyuhun, but also located at the junction of Yongzhou, Liang, Yizhou and Liangzhou. It is the most complicated state in our Liangzhou." Song Zhengben pondered for a long time and then suggested to Yang Ji: "In addition, there are There is another advantage, that is, if the Li family in Longxi strictly defends it, we can develop in the direction of Hanzhong first."
Yang Ji actually wanted to belong to Taozhou, and Song Zhengben's suggestion to develop Hanzhong was actually formed in his mind, because Hanzhong is located south of Yongliang, north of Yiliang, northwest of Jingzhou, including the current Chengzhou , Fengzhou, Xingzhou, and Liangzhou govern Liangzhou. It has been a strategic location since ancient times. It is actually quite good to establish a stronghold here.
However, as a superior, sometimes you must pretend to be deaf and mute and give your subordinates a chance to express their opinions. Otherwise, if you alone have said it all and arranged everything properly, what sense of existence will there be for everyone? What’s the point of existence?
"Song Lord Bo's idea is very good. This is what we will do in the future." After Yang Ji finished speaking, he said to Hao Yuan and Ling Jing, who bowed their heads successively: "Chengyuan, you and Song Lord Bo now go to the General Manager Gongsun and ask him Mobilize men, horses and supplies. With respect, Song Lord Bo now has new arrangements, so you can only go to Liangzhou first."
"Here!" Hao Yuan and Ling Jing bowed in agreement before saying goodbye to Song Zhengben.
After sending away the three great counselors, Yang Ji finally had time to sort out his relationship with Yang Guang.
In terms of general trends and directions, they have the same goals and interests, and they have been working together to build and operate Da Sui. The reason for this misunderstanding occurred, Yang Ji believed that there was a lack of communication and that Yang Guang had a communication problem.
Yang Guang's performance in the imperial examination may be due to two considerations: First, Yang Guang's character is very contradictory. He seems simple and rude in important matters, but when it comes to managing family relations, especially when dealing with people he cares about, At times, he was extremely attentive and cautious; for example, when Yang Ji was assassinated, he asked Yang Guang for maidservants who were good at martial arts, but Yang Guang obviously had them, but he was afraid that Yang Ji would one day mistakenly think that he sent someone to monitor him, so he directly He said no, so as to save Yang Ji from thinking blindly and avoid misunderstandings that might arise in the future. In the end, he directly introduced Yang Su and asked Yang Ji to find someone to borrow from Yang Su.
This time, he may think that as an elder brother, there is no need to deliberately say hello to him when he takes something from his younger brother; if he greets him every time because of a trivial matter, it will be a mistake; he may even consider it. He understood Yang Ji's feelings. After all, in addition to being his brother, he was also an emperor. If he was outspoken and polite, and Yang Ji thought he was alienated and jealous, then he would not be treated as a relative.
But Yang Ji is no longer the Yang Ji who had a small career before. He is now not only a powerful feudal official, but also has his own faction. Because he is burdened with the interests and expectations of too many people, he can no longer I dare not be as heartless and careless as before. For the sake of himself and these people, he must look at Yang Guang with the eyes of a courtier, and use the mentality of a courtier to figure out every decision of the emperor.
Second, as Xiao Ying said on the road, compared to what Yang Ji had done before, the scapegoat of the imperial examination was actually insignificant. Because it was a trivial matter, Yang Guang ignored Yang Ji's feelings and mistakenly thought that Yang Ji had no Take it to heart.
The problem was roughly figured out, but Yang Ji was a little troubled by how to speak.
Asking directly is definitely not possible; asking in a roundabout way seems to be better than asking directly.
"Queen?" Suddenly, an idea flashed in Yang Ji's mind, and he had the most suitable candidate in mind.
Queen Xiao is the best bridge. As long as he tells Queen Xiao about the misunderstanding that almost occurred, Queen Xiao will definitely tell Yang Guang and tell him not to do anything "I think he understands" in the future.
This time he and Yang Guang did not face each other. Not only would Yang Guang not be disgusted or misunderstood, but he would also pay more attention to it in the future. It can be said that it kills two birds with one stone.
Thinking of this, Yang Ji was about to change into more formal clothes and go to the palace to meet Empress Xiao. Before he could leave the study, he saw Zhang Chuchen pushing the door open.
After Zhang Chuchen officially entered the industry, the biggest change was her bun. The double-encircled fairy bun that used to represent a girl was replaced by a Lingxu bun.
Lingxu bun belongs to the twisted style of bun, that is, the hair is twisted in the way of combing the bun, and there is a large side parting in front of the face, which makes it more spatially beautiful. However, there were no complicated ornaments on Zhang Chuchen's head. She just wore a relatively simple bronze walking stick between her lush temples. When pulled out, her bronze walking stick was a weapon that could kill people.
The high Lingxu bun reflected a stunningly beautiful face. Even without makeup, it was difficult to hide the stunning beauty, and between the brows and corners of the eyes, there was an air of familiarity and charm that had never been seen before. Compared to Xiao Ying, Pei Shuying, and Liu Rumei, who had been raising her for nearly a year, her face was a bit "darker".
Now, just like Liu Rumei before, she still serves as Yang Ji's personal maid, and Liu Rumei has to take care of her children, so her "secretary" position has also been handed over to Zhang Chuchen.
As the saying goes, there are secretaries to do things, but there are no secretaries. Here in Yang Ji, it was fully realized.
"Sir!" He and his husband, whom he had been in love with for many years, had just become husband and wife, and they were inseparable from each other. As soon as he saw his husband, Zhang Chuchen stepped forward to salute, but Yang Ji stretched out his hand and fell to him. In his arms, Zhang Chuchen was tender and affectionate towards Yang Ji, asking for everything he asked for. He just hesitated for a moment, then put his hands around his neck. His big and charming eyes were shining, and the joy in his eyes seemed to overflow.
Yang Ji stared at those clear eyes for a while, kissed Zhang Chuchen's sweet lips, and said with a chuckle: "Miss me?"
He originally thought that this teasing would make Zhang Chuchen shy and silent, but unexpectedly, Zhang Chuchen's face turned red, he said softly, "Yeah! I thought about it..."
The deep affection in her words could not be concealed, and Yang Ji hugged her tightly without realizing it. Although the two of them did not say a word, the tenderness and affection were all silent.
Zhang Chuchen did not forget about business. He only rubbed his ears and temples for a long time before saying, "Young Master, someone is coming from the palace. It is the queen who invites you to enter the palace as soon as possible."
Yang Ji was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said: "I was about to enter the palace to meet the queen. What a coincidence. I wonder which palace someone wants me to go to?"
Zhang Chuchen said: "Wencheng Palace!"
Yang Ji released his hands and said, "I'll change my clothes, and you can arrange the carriage."
Zhang Chuchen responded and walked out quickly, and Yang Ji also walked to the locker room.
Zhang Chuchen quickly came to the door of the front yard, gave instructions to the concierge, and then came back to wait.
As soon as she arrived in the vestibule, she was bumped into by Murong Xianyue, Xian Yufang, Liu Xu, and Lu Siqi. Before she could say anything, the four girls surrounded her with "whoops", up, down, left, left, and right. After looking at me, Zhang Chuchen asked inexplicably: "Why do you look at me like this?"
Liuxu said with a half-smile, "We have been studying you these days to see how you are different from yesterday." The other women burst into laughter.
Zhang Chuchen's face turned red and he glared at Liu Xu: "I don't transform into a baby three times a day, so what's the difference? You come to make fun of me every day, aren't you afraid that I will tease you when you get married?"
"Chuchen, when you and Sister Rumei accompanied the young master for the first time, you felt weird walking the next day. Does a woman's first time really hurt?" The speaker was Murong Xianyue, she and Zhang Chuchen and Liu Rumei were the chief and deputy commanders of the Suzaku Guard, and they were also the people Dugumin planned to choose to be Yang Ji's bridal chamber teacher. However, Murong Xianyue was having menstruation, and Zhang Chuchen's mentality at that time was completely different from now. He pretended to be here; in the end, it was "cheap" for Liu Rumei, who honestly did not dare to deceive Dugu Min.
When Zhang Chuchen's mentality changed, he regretted it to death.
"You, you guys are so shameless...you can even ask such a question?" Zhang Chuchen was ashamed and angry, and his face turned red.
"You still have the nerve to say that you don't know who asked Rumei first? Who asked after you?" Murong Xianyue unceremoniously demolished Zhang Chuchen's stage, and then said: "I I heard that working with your husband is like drinking grape wine. When you enter the mouth, the sweetness is endless, and then it gradually gets into a better state and floats like a fairy. Chuchen, tell me honestly, is it like this?"
"You're so shameless, you're looking for a beating, right?" Zhang Chuchen was teased like this, and his face was so hot that he could fry an egg.
But before she could take action, the four girls rushed up to her and started tickling her. They broke the casserole and asked, "To tell you the truth, does it feel comfortable? Does it hurt? Well, does it hurt?" pain?"
Yang Ji had changed his clothes and was walking towards them. He happened to hear the sentence "It hurts, doesn't it?" and saw several girls making a fuss without noticing him, so he stepped forward curiously and asked, "What does it hurt?" Doesn’t it hurt?”
As soon as they heard Yang Ji's voice, the five women immediately stopped, staring at each other with big eyes and small eyes, unable to answer. When they were together, they dared to say all kinds of crazy things, but when a man suddenly appeared, they felt embarrassed to say it. They blushed and called "Young Master" and quietly moved away.
Zhang Chuchen bit his lip and said, "That's it. The person from the palace said that King Qi was beaten again. The board hit him, but he didn't know whether it hurt or not!"
"That's right!" The other women nodded in unison, as if they were being pardoned, like a group of chickens pecking at rice.
Yang Ji knew at a glance that they didn't mean what they said, but his attention was attracted by "King Qi was beaten again". His heart moved and he asked Zhang Chuchen: "Chuchen, you mean, Yang Jian was beaten?"
"Yes! The saint beat King Qi in Wencheng Hall, so the queen asked the young master to save his life." Zhang Chuchen was so dizzy from being kissed just now that he forgot about it; when she remembered it, he went back and said , but was entangled by these good sisters.
"Well! Let's go!" Yang Jian was beaten not once or twice, and Yang Guang couldn't beat him to death, so Yang Ji didn't take it to heart, but what was more curious was that the guy was obviously imprisoned. In the cell of Zongzheng Temple, why did he suddenly go to Wencheng Hall to be punished?
Could it be that Yang Guang unlocked the password to beat his son once in the main hall?
