In the Xuanzheng Hall, the emperors and ministers of the Sui Dynasty were all looking at the military government's withdrawal plan printed by the Ministry of War. This huge plan was based on the northern border, and was supplemented by Guanshan Fortress, local chronicles, and historical battle cases. Based on this, the withdrawal plan was drawn up. and plans to increase persuasiveness.
The Ministry of War learned the lessons of the mutiny in the capital, and the strategies it formulated became more prudent and cautious: first, it inspected border defenses and military offices, checked for vacancies, and eliminated the old and weak; second, the Ministry of War suggested that the court only count the number of troops and only deal with corrupt generals. Recovering stolen money, dismissing officials and investigating cases, and no longer imposing severe political punishments are out of fear that corrupt officials will take risks and bring disaster to the local area.
Finally, the unimportant military mansions were withdrawn and the remaining military mansions were supervised by temporary systems such as the General Manager's Office and the Governor's Office.
Yang Guang read it without commenting. He waited until the officials had finished reading it one by one, and first asked Yang Ji: "What does King Wei think of this withdrawal strategy?"
"The Military Mansion is different from the Beijing Camp. The Beijing soldiers are concentrated in one place, but the Military Mansion is scattered all over the place, making it difficult to supervise them uniformly. Especially in the far north, which is close to the foreign tribes and faces enemy captives, this is different from the Beijing Camp. So I also I agree with the sound strategy of the Ministry of War." After giving his own point of view, Yang Ji continued: "The northern border stretches for thousands of miles. From east to west, there are many checkpoints, and each important checkpoint close to the foreign tribe only has two or three. Thousands of people, this meager force cannot resist the foreign tribes who have planned a preemptive strike for a long time. After the foreign tribes concentrate on conquering one place, they can drive straight in and use it as a gap to attack the surrounding fortresses from behind. Therefore, I also believe in setting up two lines of defense, both internal and external. , it is imperative for the General Administration to supervise.”
Yang Ji also knew that the nomads in the north had always been the number one enemy of the Central Plains. From the destruction of the country in the Western Zhou Dynasty to the entry of the Jurchens, the presence of the nomads had never disappeared. Once the nomads recover and grow, the vast borders will become a huge burden on the Central Plains. The flexible nomads can attack Liaodong, attack Youzhou, Bingzhou, Yongzhou, Liangzhou, and even cross the Tianshan Mountains to attack the western regions. Tingzhou, Yinwu, Dunhuang.
To defend such a long border line in the Central Plains, at least three to four hundred thousand troops would be needed. This is very unrealistic. If the Sui Dynasty retained so many garrisons on the border, the daily expenses alone could bring down the Sui Dynasty. Moreover, after 300,000 to 400,000 troops were stationed in various places, the troops at each pass became thin and unable to defend against the well-prepared enemy troops. That's why Duan Wenzhen gave the suggestion of setting up two lines of defense, both internal and external.
The outside is mainly composed of weak scouts and border troops, the inside is based on the military mansion, and then the "war zone"-like general manager's office supervises the inside and outside. Once the beacon smoke is received from the outside scouts, the general manager's office deep in the rear immediately takes office. Gather the surrounding troops and actively prepare for war.
Yang Guang also knew this, but he was a little worried about the reappearance of the six towns. The six towns were not just Woye Town, Huaishuo Town, Wuchuan Town, Fuming Town, Rouxuan Town, and Huaihuang Town in the front, but also included the rear areas. There are many cities and military forts, and the leader of each town is equivalent to a warlord.
When he used this as an example to point out the hidden dangers one by one, Duan Wenzhen immediately said: "Don't worry, saint, the General Administration Office proposed by the Ministry of War can only supervise ten military offices and fortresses at most, and it will be located behind the defense line, followed by The imperial court controls the hinterland. Furthermore, the power to govern the government is temporary, and the general manager must be transferred upon expiration of his term. Therefore, the general manager's mansion is very different from the six towns. Once a general manager has evil intentions, he can attack from both front and left, and he can be attacked from both sides. The general manager's office can also send troops to annihilate them."
"Sage, what Duan Shangshu said is right." Yang Ji cupped his hands and said: "The General Manager's Mansion is different from the six towns. Although it has certain shortcomings, this is the best way at the moment. I don't think the imperial court can give up eating because of choking. Among the shortcomings, there are only Only after the strategy is implemented can the court discover and solve the problems."
"Sage, I second the proposal!" Gao Jiong paused, and then said: "The main purpose of this issue is to remove the redundant and useless military government and investigate the corrupt generals. After the imperial court has completed the investigation, the defense strength is actually not enough. Affected. The proposal to establish the General Administration Office is mainly to consider the subsequent defense tasks. The veteran believes that the court can proceed step by step and complete the main purpose first, and then talk about other things."
Yang Guang laughed dumbly, and the gloom in his heart disappeared, and he laughed and said: "The words of Prime Minister Gao have reached the key point. We do have some indiscriminate priorities."
After saying that, he gave instructions to Duan Wenzhen: "First, complete the matter of withdrawing and annexing the military government, and the rest will be discussed later. Discuss everything with King Wei and Prime Minister Gao."
Duan Wenzhen cupped his hands and said, "I will obey the orders of the Holy One."
Seeing this scene, Yang Ji was not so optimistic.
The establishment of the military system was ostensibly attributed to Yu Wentai's great wisdom and prowess; but in fact, he was unable to control the various powerful forces, so he had to compromise with them and had to give them the power to establish their own military government. As long as they could help him and Gao Huan If you fight and don't rebel, you will be satisfied.
To this day, most of the military generals are from the Guanlong aristocratic group "created" by Yu Wentai, and most of the generals in the military palaces in various places have become local militarized landowners. They usually enslave the soldiers and soldiers, but are close to foreign races. Most of them have secret connections with the barbarians.
If the imperial court could not carry out a major change in the border army and various military mansions, simply by withdrawing redundant military mansions, it would not fundamentally solve the fact that the Guanlong nobles collected the soldiers for their own use and used public weapons for private use.
Of course, everything comes step by step.
As long as the imperial court completes the withdrawal and annexation in accordance with the law and takes down those corrupt generals in accordance with the law, the power of the Guanlong nobles can be weakened, and then their military power can be cut off step by step.
The matter was agreed upon, and it was almost noon. Yang Guang held a banquet in honor of the important ministers.
It was not until the afternoon that Yang Jifang and a group of important ministers walked out of the palace.
"King Wei, please stay!" Just after leaving the main south gate and Zetian Gate of the palace city, a voice came from behind Yang Ji.
When he turned around to look, it was Changsun Chi who called him, and he was accompanied by Guanlong officials such as Dugu Shun, the minister of punishment, Yuanshou, the minister of Taifu Temple, and Dou Wei, the young minister of Honglu Temple. Yang Ji cupped his hands and asked in confusion: "What is the order from Prime Minister Chang Sun?"
"Don't dare!" Changsun Chi returned the gift, stepped forward quickly, and said with a smile: "I will hold a family banquet at home tomorrow. Can the king come to my humble residence for a few drinks?"
Changsun Chi is the eldest brother of Changsun Cheng, and is naturally Yang Ji's in-law. He has to give him face, but when he saw the people behind Changsun Chi, he said in an apologetic tone: "Mr. Changsun, this is really unlucky. I have to arrange pensions and other matters in the past few days, so I can't get away for the time being. When everything after the war is arranged, I will hold a family banquet and talk with Changsun Gong over wine. "
"Forget it!" Changsun Chi was not annoyed by Yang Ji's polite refusal. He smiled and said, "Then it's settled. I'm looking forward to that day."
"Of course!" Yang Ji nodded and said, "I will make arrangements for the Liangzhou Army to return to their base later. If there is nothing else, I will go back first."
Changsun Chi said politely: "Then please go slowly."
After watching Yang Ji leave, Yuanshou came up from behind and said to Changsun Chi: "Mr. Changsun, what did King Wei say?"
The Yuan clan, and even the Yuan clan's faction, are having a very difficult time now; especially after the Yuyang clan's big incident, many clans have drawn boundaries with the Yuan clan to avoid being dragged down by the Yuan clan. Changsun Chi's so-called family banquet was actually hosted by Yuan Shou, who hoped to have a chat with Yang Jihaosheng by attending the banquet together.
Changsun Chi looked at Yuanshou, shook his head, and sighed: "King Wei did not agree. He said that he would make arrangements for the war in the next few days."
Yuan Shou cast a deep look at the retreating figure and said in a low voice: "King Wei is after all a sharp sword in the hands of a royal family and a saint. After all, there is a gap in the hearts of me, the Guanlong noble."
Dugu Shun, the minister of punishment, was resourceful and knew that Yuan Shou, who was pretending to be angry, planned to tie the Dugu and Dou factions to the Yuan faction's warship so that everyone could continue to unite in the Wuchuan Alliance headed by the Yuan family. However, the military government The withdrawal and annexation made it difficult for everyone to have internal strife, so they pretended to be stupid. He sneered and said, "Mr. Changsun thinks too highly of King Wei."
Changsun Chi chuckled and said ambiguously: "King Wei's record is solid and cannot be questioned."
The strength of the Changsun family can only be said to be at the upper-middle level among the Guanlong nobles. Yang Guang asked him to represent the Guanlong nobles because he was interested in the fact that the Changsun family was not very strong but relatively loyal. He knew that if he was seriously tied to the three leading families of the three major factions, the prime minister would be captured very quickly.
In addition, the Dugu family, the Yuan family, and the Dou family usually did not listen to him, so he could not make the mistake of becoming enemies with the emperor and Yang Ji because of these people.
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On the other side, the prime ministers, Huangmen Shilang Pei Ju and Pei Yun walked slowly along the palace road together, looking very comfortable and leisurely.
"Brother, how is King Guanwei doing now?" Pei Yun asked Pei Ju.
Wenxi and the Pei family were also divided into two major factions on the issue of treating Yang Ji. Pei Ju advocated taking advantage of the emperor's trend of cutting off the Guanlong nobles to strengthen himself, and advocated getting closer to Yang Ji. If the Pei family supported Yang Ji behind his back, then Pei Ju would The clan did not have to fight with Guanlong aristocrats with swords and spears, but they could also win the favor of Yang Ji and Yang Guang. It could be described as killing two birds with one stone.
However, Pei Yun and Pei Ji insist on the view of a century-old dynasty and a thousand-year-old family. They believe that the royal family has enemies on all sides and is an enemy of the family members. This dynasty cannot last long or go away for a long time. Therefore, they believe that the Pei family will have to fight with the Sui Dynasty royal family. When dividing boundaries, put the interests of the world's aristocratic families first, and gain some practical benefits from the struggle between the royal family and the aristocratic families.
It's just that the situation in the Sui Dynasty changed too quickly, and the emperor not only had the advantages of legal principles, strength, and popular support, but also knew how to take advantage of the general trend and public opinion. Whenever he held high the banner of caring for the people, no one dared to refute. confrontation. This also made Pei Yun's long-term persistence begin to waver. He vaguely believed that if Yang Guang continued like this, the Sui Dynasty would undergo a fundamental transformation, so he also wanted to improve relations with the royal children represented by Yang Ji. , Strengthen cooperation, but he has never really come into contact with Yang Ji, and he really doesn’t know much about Yang Ji.
"At a young age, King Wei is already the leader of hundreds of officials and the leader of the army. He is truly a handsome young man, and because of the saint's favor and trust, as long as he continues to behave as he does now, he will surely have a good death. Pei Ju smiled and said: "I, Pei, are different from the aggressive and powerful Guanlong nobles. The Guanlong nobles are like a torrent, vowing to destroy everything in front of them. Their philosophy is not to smash the opponent into pieces." Death. As for our Pei family, the trickle of water nourishes and nourishes all things. The way we believe in establishing the world is to circle around when encountering stones. Although we cannot gain immortal merit from the great battles of the world, we can still pass it on."
Pei Ju also felt that the mentality of his clan brother had changed, and then took the opportunity to say: "We are different from the Guanlong nobles in treating King Wei. We are related by marriage to King Wei, and the Sui Dynasty behind him is very powerful. , for this reason alone, we cannot and should not fight against it.”
After Pei Ju finished speaking, he glanced at his clan brother again and warned: "You are now the minister of Taichang Temple. This position does not seem to have much real power, but in fact you are a close minister of the emperor, and you should be responsible for your life. And the saint has always had the heart to refresh the government. , when the military government’s plans to withdraw and merge are settled and Yu Wenshu has gained something, it is very likely that several inspectors will be dispatched to inspect the military government.”
"And you are proficient in the law, so you may not have this opportunity. As long as you can go out on patrol and be loyal to your duties, in the future... Haha, everything is easy to say. If you become the first of any of the six parts, you will be better able to become a 'saint' Got it done."
Pei Yun nodded and said with a smile: "Brother, what you said is true. I must do my job well."
At this point, he asked again: "My Pei family is strong in literature but weak in military affairs. Now the only sons with general talents are Renji and Xingyan. How did they perform in Goguryeo? Is it worthy of our family's efforts? nourish?"
"It's worth it!" Pei Ju reviewed the performance of Pei Renji and his son on the battlefield, and said in a deep voice: "But as warriors, their father and son are naturally different from us literati. After all, they and their father must make contributions on the battlefield before they can stand tall. They won’t fail. So just train them appropriately and don’t strive for something that exceeds their abilities and achievements. If they have a solid record, we can make it happen if we push them harder.”
"Brother, I understand!" Pei Yun nodded in agreement.
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But it was Yang Ji. After crossing the third bridge at the end gate of the imperial city, he took a carriage and went to the military camp in the west of the city under the protection of his guards.
The withdrawal of the military government has officially begun after what happened just now. Yang Ji doesn't know what the outcome will be, but in the process, there will definitely be big and small storms, and in this storm, the people in Liangzhou will The military government must also follow the general trend and accept inspection and rectification by the court.
Although he has been strict with the army and officials over the years, people's hearts are fickle, and he dare not say that the officials of the Liangzhou Military Mansion and government offices at all levels are flawless, so some things must be explained. If someone loses his original intention of becoming an official or a general, don't blame him for turning against him.
After all, he is a member of the royal family, and everything should be based on the interests of the Sui Dynasty. After all, he is the leader of the King Wei faction, and everything should be done with the interests of the entire faction first, and the overall interests must not be lost for a handful of traitorous villains.
