The Guanlong aristocratic group originated from Wuchuan and was first established in Guanzhong. As one of the main forces in the founding of the Zhou Dynasty and the Sui Dynasty, the Dugu family has already had a transcendent status; its reputation now seems not as good as that of the Yuan family and the Dou family, and there are not many people in the court, but Most of the Guanlong nobles are inextricably linked to him. Apart from being inferior to the Yuan family in terms of glamor, their real strength is even better. Once the powerful connections are revealed, it will be thrilling and dumbfounding.
During the Yuwentai period, the Yuan family was respected because they were members of the Northern Wei royal family; Yuan Xin was extremely powerful in the Northern Wei Dynasty, with titles such as Envoy Chijie, Taifu, General Zhuguo, Grand Master, Grand Situ, and King Guangling. By the time Emperor Gong of the Western Wei Dynasty, After taking the throne, he became the prime minister. The other six pillar states among the eight pillar states are actually jointly controlled by Yuwentai and Yuan Xin. Thanks to the country built by their ancestors, the strength of the Yuan family cannot be underestimated.
To this day, the entire Yongzhou, including Guanzhong, is still dominated by the Guanlong nobles. According to the division of power, the Yuan family with a strong foundation is the strongest in the northern part of Yongzhou.
For Yang Guang, the emperor, balance was the way to control his ministers. Since he came to the throne, he has been suppressing the Yuan faction who supported Yang Yong's violent coup in Renshou Palace. Although he never took action against the direct descendants of the Yuan family from beginning to end, the Doulu family where his cousin Dou Lukuan, the general of the Binzhou Army, and Yang Liang's uncle-in-law Dou Luyi and Dou Luyu belonged to the Yuan sect.
During the military reform, Wang Sheng, the general of the Western Wei Dynasty and a descendant of Wang Xiong, the Duke of Yongguo, who was captured by Yang Ji; Liang Hong, the general of the Western Wei Dynasty and a descendant of Liang Chun, the Duke of Dongping County; and the governor of Binzhou, the general of the Western Wei Dynasty and a descendant of Wang De, the Duke of Hebei Province. Wang Shilang; Xin Tai, the general of the Western Wei Dynasty and the descendant of Su Guogong Xin Wei... are also from the Yuan sect.
When Li Yuan said that the leader of the Wuchuan Alliance was the Yuan family, Yang Guang, while attacking Yuan Shou, Zhang Jin and other leaders of the Yuan sect, activated Dugu Shun, the leader of the Dugu sect and the former head of the Dugu family.
During the reign of the late emperor, Dugu Shun had the title of Duke of Wucheng County and the false title of Sikong, but he had no actual duties. However, in the third year of Renshou, "Dugu Tuo" and the scum of the Yuan and Dou families led Bujia Khan southward. , after Yang Ji defeated more than 300,000 Turkic troops and killed Bujia Khan, the imperial court began to liquidate.
During the liquidation process, the first person to be arrested was He Ruobi. He Ruobi knew that he would die, but in order to save his family, he confessed all the Dugu, Yuan, Dou and other families involved in the matter. , he felt that the entire Guanlong nobles were involved in this case, and the elderly Yang Jian would not dare to "enforce the law impartially" no matter what he did. As He Ruobi expected, Yang Jian did not dare to "enforce the law impartially" to everyone, but he dared to "enforce the law impartially" to the He Ruo family, which was full of evil and evil, and executed everyone; but for the Dugu family, Yuan family, Dou family Clan and other families only punished the evil leader and the evil leader's family.
The Dugu family used Dugu Tuo's room as a scapegoat, but Yang Jian knew that everything was the idea of the head of the family, Dugu Shun. Otherwise, Dugu Tuo wouldn't have the courage, so although he didn't go into it openly, he said in a roundabout way that Dugu Shun As the head of the Dugu family, his incompetent teachings led Dugu Tuo to lead Bujia Khan to the south. His crime was equally serious, so he dismissed Dugu Shun as a citizen, and Wucheng County Company and Sikong naturally disappeared.
In line with the emperor's tactic of fighting one faction and pulling another back, Yang Guang not only restored Dugu Shun's original positions as Wucheng County Magistrate and Sikong, but also granted him the actual position of Minister of Justice.
At this time, in the Zhonghua Palace, the court meeting was still going on, and the emperors and ministers of the Sui Dynasty were discussing the drought relief in the north. The climate in the north has been very abnormal recently, especially in the northern counties of Yongzhou, Bing and Youzhou. There has been no rain for a long time since the end of last year. The severe drought has seriously affected the summer grain harvest. If it doesn't rain, even this year's autumn food will not be guaranteed.
Although the imperial court is not short of food, what about the people in the north? What should the people do? Therefore, no matter what, the imperial court must do its best to help the people fight the drought and ensure the harvest, ensuring that the people have a harvest in the autumn instead of a total harvest.
"Servant Dugu, you have just returned from the north, but I wonder how the drought is in the northern counties?" Yang Guang said, turning his attention to Dugu Shun, who had just returned from northern Yongzhou.
Yang Guang attached great importance to his uncle Dugu Shun. Soon after he took office, Yang Guang ordered him to inspect the northern part of Yongzhou. His meaning is very obvious, that is, as the Minister of Justice, Dugu Shun, if you don't enforce the law impartially, how can you do it? Maybe you don't really enforce the law impartially, but as long as Yuanshi thinks you are messing with them, that's enough.
Dugu Shun naturally understood Yang Guang's sinister intentions, but the Minister of Justice was a hot and coveted position that neither he nor his family could refuse. As a comeback battle, we must have a beautiful comeback, otherwise this position will not be secure. So during his inspection, he fulfilled Yang Guang's wish and captured many corrupt officials. Then he followed the clues and arrested many local powerful people who had colluded with corrupt officials.
As for the relationship with the Yuan family, who has a grudge against him, we can sit down and slowly talk about it and slowly improve it after he has secured his position as Minister of Justice. If Yuanshi really doesn't believe it, there's nothing he can do.
Anyway, we, the Dugu family, have never believed you; well, we are also very greedy that your Yuan family controls Yongbei's trade routes!
Hearing this, Dugu Shun stood up and saluted and said: "Sage, since last winter, there has been no snow in many places in the five counties of Wuyuan, Yulin, Lingwu, Yanchuan and Shuofang in the north. After the beginning of spring, this intermittent snowfall It rained lightly for a few times. When I was ordered to inspect, officials and local elders generally reported that the disaster was serious. Now the summer grain harvest is serious, and the autumn grain cannot be guaranteed. Most of them asked the court to reduce taxes. Among them, Shuofang and Yanchuan counties were the most severely affected. , locusts were raging, and officials begged the court to allocate money and food to help the victims."
The eyes of Yuanshou, the minister of Taifu Temple, were a little gloomy. Dugu Shun, an old dog, had betrayed his trust and attacked the children of the Yuan family. Although the Yuan family had done similar things in the past for their own benefit, Guan Long The status of the clan has been declining. Can it be the same as before? It's just that the Dugu family didn't sincerely stick together for warmth, but they actually attacked the Yuan family. It was really abominable.
What is particularly abominable is that Dugu Shun perfectly inherited his father Dugu Xin's style of taking advantage of any advantage. At this time, he mentioned Wuyuan, Yulin, and Lingwu, and then focused on the traditional spheres of influence of the Dugu family, Shuofang and Yan. Sichuan County not only said that these two counties were seriously affected by the disaster, but also asked the court to reduce taxes and allocate money and food for relief.
Yang Guang frowned and said, "It's really strange. There were droughts in the north in previous years. Why are they happening one after another this year?"
"Sage, there have been severe droughts in the north in recent years. Although it can't be said to be a thousand miles away, the harvest is affected by the drought, and the harvest is getting worse every year. Since April this year, the drought has become more and more serious." Dugu Shun paused, no. He said nonchalantly: "In Lingwu Mingsha County and Yulin Fuchang County, the disasters were severe and officials exploited the people, triggering civil uprisings."
"Saint!" Sun Chi, the minister of Dali Temple and the prime minister of the Assembly Hall, came out and answered: "The day before yesterday, the Assembly Hall, the three provinces, and the Nine Temples launched an investigation into the civil uprising caused by local officials. In this way, the people's livelihood difficulties triggered the civil unrest. , the court will hold them accountable according to the law; if they push the people to this point, the court will severely punish them according to the law. But no matter what kind of situation it is, it is caused by drought and food shortage. Now officials everywhere are asking the court to reduce taxes, perhaps It is unknown whether they stopped eating because of choking."
Small-scale civil unrest has recently occurred in Yulin and Lingwu in the north of Yongzhou. However, in view of the current serious drought and poor food harvest, Yang Guang and all civil and military officials advocated a lenient attitude towards these places, that is, no civil unrest should be allowed to recur in any case; otherwise, they would All officials below the county magistrate will be severely punished.
With such layer upon layer of pressure, counties and counties in Yongbei formed a trend of reporting disasters and requesting tax exemptions. The implication is that in the face of disaster, I will do more and make more mistakes, do less and make fewer mistakes, and it will be wrong to do nothing. In this case, I will simply quit and let you, the center, solve everything.
Dugu Shun glanced at Changsun Chi and sighed inwardly. Changsun Chi is the prime minister who represents the interests of the Guanlong aristocracy, and his family is one of the core families of the Dou sect. Changsun Chi's words are, to a certain extent, a response to Dugu Shun on behalf of the Dou sect in an attempt to "give up eating because of choking." , to attack the Yuan family's power in northern Yongzhou.
Although the intention is good, this statement is too obvious, and it gives rise to the excuse for the Dugu and Dou factions to jointly suppress the Yuan faction. Once used by others, the secret competition between the three Guanlong factions will become clear; by then, the three factions will Under the control of "power", the three leaders could not sit down and discuss. He didn't wait for Yang Guang and his ministers to carefully examine Chang Sun Chi's words. Dugu Shun continued without leaving a trace: "Sage, Yongbei counties have indeed suffered serious disasters this year. The veteran believes that the top priority is to build canals and fight drought to ensure harvests. The imperial court should reduce and exempt taxes. , the ditches that need to be repaired need to be repaired.”
Yang Guang has a keen political sense. When he heard what Dugu Shun said,
Then, I felt a little clearer in my heart.
Li Yuan is now a pawn secretly supported by Yang Guang, but Li Yuan has great reservations about Yang Guang. After all, he is the head of the Li family, the nephew of the Dugu family, the son-in-law of the Dou family, and the in-law of the Wang family in Taiyuan. What he is most worried about is that Yang Guang will take these The relationship is connected together, and then we use this to analyze him; out of consideration for his own safety and his own interests, he not only did not say anything about the Dugu family and the Dou family asking him to compete for the leader of the Wuchuan Alliance, but when Yang Guang asked about the Dugu sect and the Dou sect, During the relationship, Li Yuanbian used a subtle and gentle way to exaggerate the relationship between the two families and the two factions into a relationship full of contradictions and fierce competition.
Yang Guang had no doubts about Li Yuan's exaggeration. After all, the Guanlong noble group had never been monolithic. Since the establishment of this group, various aristocratic families had been fighting non-stop. At this time, seeing that Dugu Shun and Changsun Chi at the bottom were in the same mood, they realized that the Dugu sect and the Dou sect had reached some tacit understanding on the issue of treating the Yuan sect.
However, this was exactly what he wanted. He ignored Dugu Shun's attempt to smooth things over and said directly: "What Changsun Qing and Dugu Qing said is absolutely true. Any official should be loyal to his duties and have the courage to do his job. How can he give up eating because of choking and follow what others say? If you are afraid of causing problems and not doing things, then don't be an official." Then, he said to Xue Daoheng, the doctor of Sili: "Doctor Xue!"
Xue Daoheng came out of the queue and saluted: "I'm here!"
"Tomorrow, you will lead the Sili Tai officials to inspect the four counties of Lingwu, Diaoyin, Yulin and Wuyuan." Yang Guang glanced at Xue Daoheng, a skinny man, and said in a deep voice: "If you encounter an unjust, false or wrongful conviction, you will be punished." And report it, if you encounter a fish that has slipped through the net, you will catch it; if you encounter someone who is corrupt and refuses to serve as an official, you will be removed from office on the spot; if you have merit, your deeds will be reported and encouraged."
Xue Daoheng said solemnly: "I obey your order!"
Dugu Shun had a bitter look on his face and said to himself: It's over!
Yang Guang's original intention of establishing Si Li Shi and Ye Zhe Tai was to deal with envoys like them who were ordered to go out of Beijing for inspection: first, to prevent envoys who were ordered to go out for inspection from colluding with local officials and deceiving the imperial court. Exclude dissidents. The second is as Yang Guang said, "If you encounter an unjust, false or wrong case, you will be punished; if you encounter a fish that slipped through the net, you will catch it; if you encounter corruption and do not serve as an official, you will be removed from office on the spot; if you have merit, your deeds will be reported." (Note)
These two magical blades are like two pairs of eyes and two shackles to the officials who are ordered to patrol. Whenever the imperial court sends envoys to patrol the world and clean up the bad apples among the officials, Sili Shi and Ye Zhe Tai must run next. Go through it again.
Sili Tai is responsible for Yongzhou and Yuzhou, where the two capitals of the East and West are located, and Yezhe Tai is responsible for the other twelve states. Although Xue Daoheng, the Sili official, is pedantic and stubborn, he is very familiar with the law and the ways and means of officials committing crimes, and he is also A man who has no room for even half a criminal in his eyes.
When Dugu Shun was touring the north, he turned a blind eye to Wuyuan prefect Yu Juluo and other county-level officials based on the principle of seizing the small and magnifying. But Xue Daoheng was different from him. Once the tough old guy goes north, he will definitely be "released" and "fish that slipped through the net" will be caught, and even he himself will be implicated.
But now that the matter has come to this, there is nothing that can be done about it. I just hope Yu Juluo and others can be smarter and deceive the more pedantic Xue Daoheng.
However, although Xue Daoheng was a bit pedantic, Dugu Shun ignored one person, and this person was Yang Xiong's second son Yang Wei. Yang Wei is now a member of the Sili Tai family. Although his name is unknown, he is nicknamed "Yin Da Fu" in Sili Tai.
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[Note: The missions of Silishi and Yezhetai are very similar to that of the Jinyiwei. Of course, their power is not as great as that of the Jinyiwei. However, it is conceivable that officials are afraid of them. The Yang Wei mentioned above is a very powerful crime solver. Master, when he was a Sili doctor, he followed Yang Xuangan, who rebelled, "when he met the enemy on the road, he avoided people and talked about it for a long time... The emperor was worried about his affairs, and he fell ill and died." It was fine that he died inexplicably, but Before and after him, others in Sili Terrace and Yezhe Terrace also died inexplicably. Since then, basically no officials were willing to serve in Sili Shi and Ye Zhe Tai, and Yang Guang finally had to withdraw from the two stations. Taken together, it seems that the second station stung the officials, so there was a mass opposition. Yang Guang was restrained by the situation and had to withdraw these two sharp blades. 】
