The atmosphere of this carefully prepared dinner was completely changed by such a disruption, but what could Yang Zhao do besides being helpless? Even though he tried his best to calm down the atmosphere, the dinner still ended hastily. When night just fell over the earth, all the guests attending the banquet dispersed, citing the curfew as an excuse.
Yang Ji and Yang Xian were left behind by Yang Zhao. The three of them came to a waterside pavilion by the Furong Pond and sat by the window. The light of the lantern outside the window shone on the water, and the slightly rippling ripples shone with a soft halo. The air is cool and the scenery is picturesque.
Several beautiful palace maids knelt in front of the table and made tea. When the fragrance of tea overflowed, Yang Zhao pushed them away, picked up the teapot and filled Yang Ji and Yang Xin with tea. He picked up the teacup and took a sip, lazily. He said proudly: "No need to be formal, just feel free."
Yang Ji liked hearing this. Although it would not be disrespectful to maintain the necessary etiquette for the prince in front of outsiders, once there were too many rules, the banquet would look very hypocritical and make people very uncomfortable; but in life, who There is no way to completely get rid of this hypocritical performance, even he, the prime minister, the prince, and the emperor are not immune.
Yang Ji couldn't change anything, and he didn't ridiculously think that he could change, but he could not participate in the hypocritical social banquet; of course, the host invited him to the banquet, maybe just out of politeness, not necessarily sincerely, he went If you don't go, maybe others won't care.
"Why do you bother?" Yang Zhao put down the tea cup and said to Yang Ji with a wry smile: "It's because my family is so tense that it will be embarrassing when we meet in the future."
The family that Yang Zhao refers to refers to Li Changya, the consort who smoothed things over for Li Dai and spoke out for him. Li Changya was a native of Xiangping, Liaodong, and the grandson of Li Bi, the Duke of Zhao in the Bazhu Kingdom. As early as the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Li Bi regarded himself as a descendant of the Li family in Zhao County. , but only God knows whether it is.
During the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Li Changya married Yang Jian's daughter, Princess Xiangguo, and granted the title of Duke of Heyang County. When Li Dai failed to step down, he had offered to help many times, and even planned to act as a lobbyist, trying to get Yang Ji and Zhao County Li However, Yang Ji was so angry that he could not step down. This was also one of the important reasons why the banquet dispersed early.
"My family is my own family!" Yang Ji said with a smile: "But as a descendant of the Li family in Zhao County, he mixed too much desire for power and interests into the issue just now, so the relationship naturally faded."
Yang Zhao also knew that Yang Ji was not wrong. After all, the Li family of Zhaojun seemed very utilitarian on this issue, and Li Changya, the consort, spoke from the perspective of the Li family of Zhaojun. It is no wonder that Yang Ji treated him as an outsider. , and didn’t even give him any face.
"Even so, she is the daughter of Zhaojun Li's family after all!" Yang Jian next to him said with regret: "Everyone came to the door for nothing, and Uncle Wang actually refused, which is really a pity. If it were me, I’ll have some fun first and then talk about other things.”
"Ahai, don't you like married women? When did you change your taste?" Yang Ji looked at Yang Jian strangely and asked curiously.
"Three days after leaving, I should look at each other with admiration. Under Aye's stick teachings, I have deeply realized my mistakes. I am no longer the same person now. I don't like women anymore!" Yang Xian continued with a look of disgust. Said: "Uncle Wang, you can no longer look at me the way you used to look at me. It's really extremely dirty."
"That's a pity!" Yang Ji shook his head and said meaningfully: "I originally planned to send several of Murong Fuyun's concubines to you for interrogation. Although those few are not stunningly beautiful, they are not very beautiful either. They are in line with the aesthetics of us Central Plains people, but they are also the concubines of the Great Khan Tuyuhun, and they must know some secrets of the Xianbei people. Since your taste has changed, I have no choice but to leave it to others for interrogation."
When Yang Jian heard that Yang Ji was Murong Fuyun's concubine, his attitude changed drastically. He quickly forgot what he had just said and smiled with his mouth closed: "The right way is "When something happens, the disciple will do his duty." Wang Since my uncle has important matters that need to be interrogated, how dare my nephew refuse? But I wonder when Uncle Wang will send it over? "
Yang Jing has unique taste. He not only likes women, but also particularly likes women with high status. As for whether the woman is beautiful or ugly, he is not afraid of meat and vegetables. He can't put it down even the fifty-year-old mother of the Khitan chief.
Yang Ji was happy and said to Yang Jian with a smile: "Okay, I will give you "Murong Fuyun's concubine" another day. "
Yang Zhao couldn't help stroking his forehead and sighed: "My child is here.
Face, it’s really hopeless. "
Yang Ji smiled and stopped talking. In fact, Yang Jian's special hobby was nothing in this era; as long as Yang Jian didn't rob and harm the people of the Sui Dynasty, he didn't care. And I heard that this guy has improved a lot, and now he is obsessed with studying crops every day; if he seriously researches and produces new crop species with high productivity, Sui will be blessed.
After taking a sip of tea, Yang Ji asked casually: "How is the operation of the Sui Royal Library?"
In order to allow poor scholars to buy cheap books and paper, Yang Ji suggested that Yang Guang set up the Sui Dynasty Royal Library under Zongzheng Temple and set up shops in various counties to specialize in selling various books and low-priced papers printed by Liangzhou Printing Factory. Its function is somewhat similar to that of Xinhua Bookstore in later generations. But the Sui Royal Library took orders directly from Prince Yang Zhao.
The name of this bookstore chain is "Da Sui Royal Library". Although more than half of its good reputation has been taken away by the "Royal", for Yang Zhao, as long as it is run well, it is still a good job to gain political achievements and gain a good reputation. .
Although Yang Zhao was relatively busy, Yang Ji took care of everything from the conception to the operation plan of the Sui Royal Library, which was chained all over the world. Even the books were sent to Daxing City. As a result, the construction and management were all left to him. , this is a huge favor.
Yang Zhao put down his tea cup and said with a relaxed expression: "In addition to Liangzhou where Uncle Wang is in charge, the capitals of the other thirteen states and the Shangjun County where people are densely populated have the Sui Royal Library. Next, I plan to add another Spread it to Zhongjun."
Yang Ji asked again: "How is the effect and response?"
"The effect and response are unexpectedly good!" Yang Zhao said with a smile: "Although the aristocratic families regard cheap books and imperial examinations as scourges and want to burn down libraries everywhere, cheap books and paper are widely welcomed and favored by poor people, so they They want to boycott but dare not boycott, otherwise they will be notorious for suppressing poor students from studying and preventing the teachings of Confucius and Mencius from spreading throughout the world. If they don't have a good reputation, what kind of aristocratic family are they? So even if every family grits their teeth with hatred, they still I don’t dare to engage in any conspiracy in the library.”
Yang Ji was not as optimistic as Yang Zhao, and reminded: "A family with a family that has been passed down for nearly a thousand years is not someone to be trifled with. Their family has a great business, and there are some who are wise, mediocre, and cruel. You’d better be careful.”
"If it were in the past, maybe I wouldn't go against the family members, but the family members are very ambitious. One or two of them want to overthrow the Sui Dynasty and establish a new dynasty. Now that they have become sworn enemies, what else can I do? Are you scrupulous?" Yang Zhao laughed, and then said: "As the saying goes, no desire leads to strength. I have no expectations for them anymore. If they have any means, just use them! Unless they use dead soldiers to assassinate me, otherwise, the books will be destroyed. Just keep doing it."
Nowadays, the children of the royal family understand that the contradiction between the royal family and the aristocratic families is irreconcilable. Whether they are the Guanlong nobles who claim to be a military family or the nobles who inherit poetry and books, they all hate the Sui Dynasty and the royal family. In order to deal with it, everyone These powerful enemies were silently united under Yang Guang; even Yang Xian, a stupid young man, "changed his past mistakes" after understanding the situation of the royal family. And empty.
It can be said that the royal family, surrounded by the world's noble families, has achieved unprecedented unity.
Yang Ji pondered for a moment, and then said to Yang Zhao: "This northern tour, the saint appointed you to supervise the country, the burden on your shoulders is not light!"
The Northern Patrol Army totaled 330,000 people, including 100,000 Xiaoguo Army, 200,000 reformed Xinjing Army, and 30,000 Liangzhou Army. After this army moved north, Luoyang and Daxing each had 100,000 new Beijing soldiers, as well as Yang Zhao's 30,000 East Palace Guards. The remaining more than 200,000 troops are not only the troops guarding the two capitals, but also the reinforcements of the Northern Patrol Army. Once a war breaks out in the north, Yang Guang may pull these 200,000 troops to the north.
At that time, Yang Zhao, who is responsible for supervising the country, will not only guard the two capitals with empty troops, but also be responsible for providing food and fodder for the army. That's why Yang Jicai said that the task on his shoulders is not light. Fortunately, Yang Guang left Yang Xiong in Luoyang, Yang Da and Duan Wenzhen to assist Yang Zhao in handling military and political affairs. Even if a war broke out, Yang Zhao would not be in a hurry.
"This is what I'm most worried about. I'm not worried about foreign enemies, I'm worried about internal thieves." The smile on Yang Zhao's face slowly faded, he sighed, and said to Yang Ji with a wry smile: "The ambitions of the Guanlong nobles , all passers-by know it, but I didn’t think much of it when I had never faced them directly before. Only after I stayed in Guanzhong for these years did I understand why Aye was eager to move the capital to Luoyang; this Guanzhong is not Xijing, it is simply a ring of wolves. We are waiting in the dragon's pond and tiger's den, if we are not careful, we are in danger of being shattered to pieces."
Yang Jian frowned and said, "Is it that exaggerated?"
"It's not an exaggeration!" It was Yang Ji who answered Yang Jian. He said: "After the capital was moved and at the beginning of the military reform, "thieves" were everywhere in Guanzhong. These "thieves" had better weapons and equipment than the regular army, and were more fearless than the regular army. Damn it, doesn’t this explain the problem? There is also Li Anqi, the ten thousand-year-old general who rebelled, ostensibly to avenge his brother Li Anqi, but is it not the Guanlong nobles who are behind this? Let me tell you clearly that Yuan Shou, Zhang Jin and other Yuan faction forces are behind this rebellion. "
Having said this, Yang Ji looked at Yang Jian, whose expression became serious, and said with a sneer: "The situation was extremely critical at that time. The Beijing army was subject to Yu Wenshu's brutal military reforms and fell into chaos. At that time, Guanzhong could not use its army. , only the Binzhou Army we have reorganized is in an extremely urgent situation."
"Uncle Wang is right!" Yang Zhao also added in a deep voice: "Although the Guanlong nobles are the foundation of our Sui Dynasty, when our Yang family became the royal family, their goal was to recommend our royal family, so my grandfather and Aye They all regard the Guanlong nobles as the most powerful enemy. The purpose of Aye's military examination, moving the capital to Luoyang, military reform, and establishing the Xiaoguo Army, the emperor's personal army, was actually to weaken and break up this foundation. At that time, there was no time to build a new one. The foundation eventually led to the rebellion of the Wannian Army. If Uncle Wang and the old Duke of Chu had not put out the rebellion in time, the Guanlong nobles would have incited the soldiers who were eliminated and could not be resettled to cause trouble, and the thieves scattered throughout Guanzhong would also We will raise troops to respond."
"Judging from the situation at that time, our Sui Dynasty was several times more serious than the Fifth Uncle's rebellion. It is not an exaggeration to say that the national destiny was in danger of collapse. Looking back now, I feel cold sweat."
With that, Yang Zhao said to Yang Ji: "Uncle Wang, what I am most worried about now is that the same situation will happen again during the period of prison. I wonder if Uncle Wang can teach me?"
"The first is to firmly control the defense power of Tongguan and Wuguan; the second is to maintain constant contact with King Ande; and the third is to maintain close contact with Qian Shixiong, the governor of Fufeng County." Yang Ji hesitated for a while and then said: "At the end of the morning session tomorrow, I will raise your concerns to the saint, and then order Zhang Dinghe to lead an army of 20,000 to garrison in Huining, and Murong Sanzang to lead an army of 20,000 to garrison in Lintao. In case of changes in Guanzhong, Zhang Dinghe's troops will be sent out Huining, passed Pingliang and Anding, and entered Fufeng from Dazhen Pass; Murong Sanzang's troops left Lintao, passed Longxi and Tianshui, and entered Fufeng from Anyi Pass."
The 40,000 elite troops are the limit that Yang Ji can use now; on the one hand, the three counties of Xihai have been initially decided, and he left nearly 100,000 troops on the plateau to suppress the anti-Sui forces; on the other hand, Yang Ji Guang was uneasy about the foreigners in the north and asked him to deploy 40,000 elite troops in the Xiutuze area of Wuwei. If the Eastern Turks dared to play any tricks, the 40,000 elite troops headed by Li Jing and Yang Shanhui immediately went north, captured Qimin Khan and retreated to the Turks The back road of Beihanting.
Hearing this, Yang Zhao breathed a long sigh of relief and was full of confidence in the next task: the Liangzhou Army has been fighting and fighting since Yang Ji became an official; the Liangzhou Army was "optimized" during the war. It is the elite among the elite. Its combat effectiveness, fighting will, and weapons and equipment are all at the forefront of the Sui army. The suggestion of the two Liangzhou armies arranged by Yang Ji was actually what Yang Zhao also planned to tell Yang Guang, but could not. After all, he is already the prince of a country who is ordered to supervise the country. On the issue of military power, sometimes what he says can easily cause Yang Guang to misunderstand. But if Yang Ji raised it to Yang Guang, it would be different.
He stood up and bowed deeply to Yang Ji: "Thank you, Uncle Wang!"
"You're welcome! You're welcome!" Yang Ji chuckled and said to Yang Zhao: "But you have to find a way to honor the 1.5 million shi of food you promised to the soldiers and people of Liangzhou. Otherwise, it will be very difficult for me. "
"Well, uncle Wang, don't worry, I won't cheat. But there is no food in Guanzhong, so you have to give me time." Yang Zhao smiled bitterly and said, "Uncle Wang Cai sent a memorial from Jiangdu some time ago to praise him.
The state's summer grain harvest this year was gratifying, and it was a rare bumper year. He was worried that low grain prices would hurt farmers, and suggested that the court buy a large amount of Changpingcang. As soon as new grain arrives, I will try to repay this debt. "
Changpingcang was a great initiative during the period of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty. As an emperor who grew up among the people, Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty knew that the people were not easy, so he founded Changpingcang on the advice of his minister Geng Shouchang. When there was sufficient food, he built Changpingcang. Collecting grain from the people at the average market price not only ensures that the interests of the people are not harmed too much, stabilizes farmers' enthusiasm for farming, but also ensures that the court has a large amount of grain all year round. If a war or famine occurs, the government will take over the grain depot The grain in the grain is sold to the people at a lower price to prevent the grain from being expensive and harming the people. The Changping warehouse located in the border area can directly provide sufficient grain reserves for the border garrison, stabilize the morale of the border troops, and ensure the security of the national border.
The imperial court actually did not suffer a loss, because the selling price was higher than the price when it was bought back in the good years. Therefore, Changpingcang stabilized the economy and the court's fiscal revenue, which played a huge help in the development of the Western Han Dynasty.
"As long as you accept your account, everything will be fine." Yang Ji understood that there was no food in Guanzhong, and what was left in the official warehouse should be open to supply the people of Guanzhong. Naturally, he would not do anything inhumane or force others to do something difficult.
"Accept it, I will definitely admit it." Yang Zhao nodded.
