In the Tongming Hall of Ziwei City, the emperors and ministers of the Sui Dynasty continued the current war in Goguryeo and the subsequent governance matters. Prime Minister Xiao Jue, who was born in the Ministry of War, analyzed one by one: "The saints, the princes, and the Protectorate of the Great Lakes District and the Protectorate of the West Sea Different; there are not many decent cities in the Great Lakes District and the West Sea, and the terrain and weather are far less complex and changeable than the Andong Protectorate, and the population is not as large as the Andong Protectorate. Among them, Murongbei in the Great Lakes District is able to survive mainly because I had the support of the Sui Dynasty, so once the army of King Wei arrived, countless people surrendered. In the arms race that lasted for many years, the people of the West Sea were brutally exploited by the Tuyuhun regime. They were very hostile to Tuyuhun. In addition, our dynasty was at every point. We have deployed so many troops that when King Wei goes on an expedition, he doesn’t have to worry about the enemy cutting off his retreat and can march forward with confidence.”
"Compared with these two, the Andong Protectorate is completely different: First, the Andong Protectorate is a peninsula deep into the sea, except for the western part of the three counties of Mozhou, Xuantu and Xiangping in the north. Being far away from the core of the Sui Dynasty, coupled with the dangerous terrain and changeable climate, its connection with the Sui Dynasty is extremely weak. This situation is not only an important reason why it is easily taken away by Goguryeo, but also brings problems to future governance. It is a huge inconvenience. Secondly, although the six counties of Xuantu and Xiangping are our homeland in the Central Plains, because Goguryeo has occupied them for too long, the people regard themselves as Goguryeo and view our Sui Dynasty as an invader. I think that King Wei is from This consideration led Gao Yuan to surrender as a traitor instead of as a monarch. Later, in order to alleviate the hatred of the people and win the hearts of the people, he even called the soldiers who died in Goguryeo were poisoned by Gao Yuan. 'My own people', working hard to make the people of Anton turn their hatred towards the ambitious Gao Yuan."
"The various measures currently implemented by King Wei are to ease and clear obstacles for future governance. His far-reaching vision is far beyond the comparison of ordinary generals."
Figuring out the emperor's heart has always been the top priority for courtiers. If one person can't figure it out or analyze it thoroughly, then convene a team of staff to figure it out; and as the representative of the southern noble clan, the Xiao family naturally has no shortage of outstanding staff.
To this day, the Xiao family has analyzed the relationship between Yang Guang and Yang Ji very thoroughly. They believe that the friendship between the two is very weak; Yang Guang's status is too high, and his status as emperor makes him dare not trust someone easily. , but the emperor is also a human being, and he also needs friends and brothers, and Yang Ji likes to cause trouble, does not have much heart for power, and does not seem to value Yang Guang's status as emperor, so he is deeply trusted by Yang Guang, which is why the friendship and brotherhood between the two are far apart. Far more than the relationship between king and minister.
What's even weirder is that the emperor actually regarded Yang Ji as his apprentice. No matter what achievements Yang Ji made, the emperor seemed to be saying, "If I hadn't taught him well, how could the Vajra slave have such achievements? No matter how strong he is, it's just nothing." What I taught is not as good as my master."
In addition, they had similar temperaments and neither of them were peaceful people. Whenever Yang Ji did something that the emperor could not do, the emperor felt a sense of confidant. Over time, the emperor subconsciously regarded Yang Ji as his 'puppet'. , 'Shadow', 'Clone'.
As for Yang Zhao and Yang Jian, why don't they get the same treatment as Yang Ji? The Xiao family believes that there are three main reasons: first, the difference in seniority. When facing the elders, the younger generation neither can nor dare to be unscrupulous. The elders do not talk to the younger generation well and always have a condescending tone; Father and son cannot know and talk to each other. Secondly, the Yang brothers are not as capable as Yang Ji, and their work is not as popular as Yang Ji's. The third and most critical point is that Yang Guang is the emperor, and Yang Zhao and Yang Jian are the emperor's sons. This relationship makes the father and son have a vague sense of caution and precaution against each other.
In this way, Yang Ji became a unique existence in the emperor's mind, and praising Yang Ji was equivalent to praising the emperor, but the effect was even better than praising the emperor.
What Xiao Jue is saying now is to use the West Sea and the Great Lakes area to prove that Anton is not easy to get, and then to use Yang Ji to seize the three major protective palaces to praise the emperor; but his ultimate purpose is to take the opportunity to test The emperor's attitude: I want to see if the emperor trusts Yang Ji as usual after this battle.
As expected by Xiao Junzhi, when Yang Guang heard his last words, he couldn't help but show a satisfied smile on his face, but he said in a very disdainful tone: "So-so, so be it. And that kid can’t stand praise, so don’t praise him too highly, otherwise he will be even more proud. Mr. Xiao, let’s get down to business!”
"Here!" Xiao Jue knew that the emperor still trusted Yang Ji as before, and he couldn't help but secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had found out the answer he needed, and there was no need to talk nonsense anymore: "What I said is mainly I would like to say that the six southern counties of Andong Protectorate are different from other places. The terrain there is difficult and the people's hearts are mostly towards Goguryeo. Each city has a certain strategic significance. Every time King Wei conquers a city, he must divide his troops to stay behind. Especially this. This is especially true for cities in strategic fortresses such as He'an City, Gaimou, Lishan, Bisha, Niangniang, Dahang, and Domestic in Liaodong. This also shows that the more cities captured by the Eastern Expeditionary Army, the more cities Wei Wang can use. The army is smaller.”
"And even at the beginning of the imperial administration, the government and officials faced the same group of people who were not attached to the people. If the anti-Sui forces sow discord among them, the rebellion is likely to sweep across the six southeastern counties of An'an again, so these very critical cities also need the army. Guard these cities."
After a pause, Xiao Jue bowed his hand to Yang Guang and said in a deep voice: "For the above two reasons, plus the Eastern Expedition Army's need to return to the court to rest after the war, and the need for Silla, Baekje, and even Japan to defend themselves, Wei Chen believes that the imperial court The king should be given an appropriate increase in troops. After the war, these follow-up troops will be stationed in the seven counties of Andong. After the situation there is stabilized, the defenses will be changed and the garrison will be reduced."
Xiao Jue was not seeking credit like the previous generals from Guanlong. What he said was very realistic. It not only involved the post-war governance and stability of the Andong Protectorate, but also related to the "new Goryeo" and Silla in the south. In relation to Baekje and Wa, even the northern and southern Shiwei and Mohe tribes in the northeast must be defended. Therefore, there is no room for Yang Guang to ignore it.
"If Prime Minister Xiao hadn't pointed out the crux of the problem, I would have ignored this matter." Yang Guang pondered for a moment and said: "I plan to let the Sumo Mohe Army from Tudiji, the Xi Clan Army from Chuheluo, and Hulu Jin’s surrendered troops are stationed at the Andong Protectorate, what do you think?”
"Sage, I think it's inappropriate!" Gao Jiong said: "The place where the Xi tribe and Sumo Mohe live is very close to the Andong Protector's Mansion, and the troops led by Hu Lujin are natives of the local people. Let these people It is indeed very good to have an army stationed in the Seven Counties of Andong. However, the loyalty of the three cannot be guaranteed. If they take the opportunity to grow bigger, the Seven Counties of Andong will become the last one. Moreover, the Xi people and the Mohe people are very wild, unlike us Sui people. If they abide by the law and cause trouble and loot the people while they are stationed, wouldn't King Wei's current efforts be in vain? Even if neither happens, they themselves need the court to assimilate and influence them one by one. How can they assimilate the people of Anton? In view of this, the veteran believes that the soldiers stationed in the army should be mainly composed of Sui people, and the three can only be supplementary."
"When soldiers were stationed in the seven counties of Andong, the garrison generals could use strict military discipline to restrain the foreign soldiers. When the soldiers communicated with each other on a daily basis, the Sui soldiers could subtly assimilate them through their words and deeds."
"Gao Gong said that is absolutely true!" Yang Guang nodded silently. He also knew that governing and assimilating a newly arrived place and foreign race was far more difficult and complicated than fighting a war, and it would also take an extremely long time, at least two hours. Ten years of work.
Compared with Sumo Mohe, who had already returned home and actively attached himself, the Xi tribe and Goguryeo surrendered their troops not long ago, and their loyalty has yet to be tested. However, as Gao Jiong said: If the garrison is mainly composed of Sui troops and foreigners as supplements, it can indeed effectively eliminate the hidden dangers of alien disloyalty. At the same time, it can also influence the foreign soldiers during daily coexistence and daily training, and make them Recognize the Great Sui Dynasty faster and integrate into the Great Sui Dynasty faster.
The effect of subtle influence is not only far better than forced education, but also less objectionable.
Thinking of this, Yang Guang said to Duan Wenzhen: "Duan Qing, in the name of the Ministry of War, please write: order each of the Twelfth Army to pick three thousand-man troops to go to Liaodong City to obey orders, and send another four thousand Xiaoguo to set off."
The original fourteenth battalion of the Twelve Army of the Great Sui Dynasty was inherited from the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Most of the soldiers were from Yongzhou. Their military numbers adopted the place names of Guanzhong. Since the Northern Zhou Dynasty and the founding of the Great Sui Dynasty, the world had not yet been unified, it was natural for the military numbers to be named after places. It doesn't matter, but after the world is unified, if it continues to be named after the place in Guanzhong, it will be full of regional color. The soldiers and civilians in other places also believed that the imperial court had regional bias and always focused on the people of Guanzhong, treating them as outsiders and second-class people.
Therefore, during the military reform, Yang Ji not only merged the Fourteenth Battalion of Guanzhong into the Twelfth Army of the Sui Dynasty, but also changed the Wannian Army to Shenqi Army, Chang'an Army to Drum Flag Army, Fuping Army to Xuange Army, and Liquan Army. The army was changed to Jingyue Army, the Tongzhou Army was changed to Yulin Army, the Ningzhou Army was changed to Zhewei Army, the Huazhou Army was changed to Cavalry Army, the Qizhou Army was changed to Yandao Army, the Binzhou Army was changed to Zhaoyao Army, and the Xizhou Army was changed to Zhewei Army. Linzhou Army was changed to Yuanyou Army, Jingzhou Army was changed to Tianji Army, and Yizhou Army was changed to Tianjie Army.
"Here!" Duan Wenzhen responded.
"Forty thousand soldiers, plus the Xi clan, Mohe, and surrendered soldiers, can fully enable the Andong Protectorate to survive the most critical period. When it settles down, we can reduce the garrison as appropriate." Yang Guang arranged the army and felt quite relaxed He smiled and said: "With the garrison and the right management talents, there should be no problems in the seven counties of Andong. There is no need to worry about the supplies and food needed by the garrison and officials."
Yang Da said with a smile: "Gao Yuan is very commendable for his ability to save money and his ability to accumulate family property. He has made full preparations for war since the first year of Daye, and he has stored so much money, food and materials. It makes sense. It’s just that he didn’t expect that King Wei used his troops like a god and fought fiercely, making these supplies cheaper for our army.”
Everyone couldn't help but laugh. This was because Yang Ji fought too fast and completely captured the grain and grass supplies that Goguryeo had hoarded in various cities in the Liaodong Plain. Not only did he solve the problem of military expenses for the Eastern Expedition, but he could also use it to provide relief to the people and implement the work-for-relief policy, which even cost the garrison and officials in the future three or four years.
Since Anton has everything, the imperial court naturally does not need to transport food thousands of miles, and the money and food saved by the imperial court can be used to do many things.
"This is indeed a good statement!" Zhang Heng couldn't help laughing and said: "Gao Yuan mobilized hundreds of thousands of well-equipped elite soldiers to fight in Liaodong, but the same mistake was made again and again, which eventually led to these elite soldiers being annihilated one by one by the King of Wei. In addition, he left us so many supplies. It’s no wonder that King Wei said he was the greatest contributor to this battle, and it’s no wonder that King Wei said that he was the best and most successful spy in history.”
The Sui people were very xenophobic. In the eyes of everyone, foreigners were either friends or enemies, vassals or enemies, and enemy chiefs were deserving of death.
The emperors and ministers of the Sui Dynasty who were present at first thought that Gao Yuan deserved to be captured and killed. However, when everyone followed Yang Ji's lies and conferred honors and considered it, they found that Gao Yuan, who kept giving away people, was really a member of the Sui Dynasty. Hero and spy, if he hadn't been "helping" Yang Ji all the time, how could he have won this easily?
After thinking about it like this, everyone's hatred for Gao Yuan magically disappeared and disappeared.
Even Gao Yuan, who was defeated in the Eastern Expedition, was no exception. He smiled and said to Yang Guang: "Saints always have clear rewards and punishments. Since Gao Yuan successfully lured hundreds of thousands of enemy troops to their death, and also hoarded so many Materials should be generously rewarded.”
"Haha, of course, of course!" Yang Guang laughed loudly: "When he arrives in Luoyang, he will confer on Gao Yuan the title of Duke of Pyongyang County and the title of Protector of the Army...Wu Sanguan is the general who conquers the east."
As he spoke, Yang Guang thought of something else and added: "When canonizing someone, be sure to explain all his 'contributions' one by one, so as to prevent the Sui soldiers and people from misunderstanding the court."
When everyone heard this, they all laughed and were extremely happy.
Su Wei was the only one who looked pale and absent-minded. He neither spoke nor smiled. He didn't know why he, who had just been named Prince Shaobao, was so unhappy.
At this point in the discussion, the 'small court meeting' held after the morning court finally came to an end. Seeing that the emperor had nothing else to say, the ministers all took their leave and left.
In the main hall, only Yang Guang and Yang Xiu were left.
Yang Xiu is the Minister of Zongzheng Temple. His mission is to help Yang Guang manage the royal relatives and royal properties. Taoism, Buddhism, and Taoist temples and temples dedicated to the royal family are also under his control, but his main responsibility is still the royal relatives. . It seems relatively leisurely, but the clan industry is huge and there are many trivial things that happen every day.
Seeing that he didn't leave, Yang Guang roughly guessed why he stayed. He raised his teacup and took a sip, then said to Yang Xiu, "If you have anything to say, just say it."
"Here!" Yang Xiu responded and said, "What I want to say is related to Su Wei."
"Su Wei is a smart and tactful man. After his brother rejected his suggestion of combining the two rankings into one, he immediately appointed He Duo, who had a sworn hatred with him, to serve as a wine sacrifice in the Imperial College. These two things were enough for him to understand that his brother He was dissatisfied with him. Based on my understanding of him, he must have submitted his resignation afterwards to appease his brother's anger."
After glancing at Yang Guang, Yang Xiu continued: "Brother can just remove him when the time comes. This will not only remove him from office, but also preserve the reputation of the brother. What I don't understand is why the brother chose this method!"
"Suwei is smart and smooth, but he is very greedy for power; his real purpose of repeatedly proposing to let Vajra slaves guard the border is not for the sake of the country, but because he is worried that Vajra slaves will enter the court and lose his real power as Zuopushe. In addition, his reputation is too high, and there is no suitable person from the Guanzhong gentry to take over his position, so they take the opportunity to attack and take down the position of Zuopushe and turn him into a virtual reality. If he is completely dismissed, The Guanzhong gentry and the Su faction will definitely go around saying that I am mean and unkind and that I have treated my ancestors badly." Yang Guang put down his tea cup and said: "Maybe he will take the initiative to submit his resignation as you said, but this cunning old fox will definitely leave a back-up plan for me. We have to veto his resignation; if this is the case, not only will we not be able to fire him and we will not be able to win over Zuopushe, but we will also have to seal him and give him a good reputation."
"That's it!" Yang Xiu suddenly realized. After thinking for a while, he asked again: "Aren't you afraid that he will say you're being treated badly now?"
"He doesn't dare! He was removed from the post of Zuopushe because he made a big mistake, but I made him the Prince Shaobao of the same rank. This is my respect for the veteran." Yang Guang said coldly He said: "Maybe he doesn't understand it yet, but as long as he calmly thinks about it, he will understand it. At that time, not only will he not dare to say that I have wronged him, but he will help me spread the word."
"If he can't figure it out and people say I treated him badly, send some people to tell him his true intention of combining the two rankings into one, unified examination, and unified admission, and let the poor people in the world curse him to death."
Yang Xiu: "..."
