In the left study room of the front hall, Yang Ji, Hao Yuan, Wei Zheng, Liu Xiaosun, and Li Xuandao were sitting leisurely at the coffee table drinking tea.
There is also newcomer Fang Yanzao. Fang Yanzao was a military officer in the palace. He and Fang Xuanling took the initiative to submit to the Lu family in Jiangyang, and were then sent to Baekje by Yang Ji, so he was not very familiar with Yang Ji and others. However, Yang Ji knew that he was Li Mi's most powerful conspirator in history, and his intelligence and ability were actually no weaker than Fang Xuanling. Unfortunately, Li Mi had too many "big Wei" mountains, and the leaders of each mountain had their own thoughts and wars. They always lag behind, that's why they lose so quickly.
As for Fang Xuanling, who also joined the military, he did not enter the court. After the war, he went home to prepare for the marriage.
Wei Zheng lifted the kettle on the stove and washed, brewed, and divided the tea with skillful movements. Watching his flowing rhythm, you can feel the beauty of concentration and meditation. He has perfect control over the heat, and when he competes with others over tea, there are few people who would be willing to lose.
Yang Ji picked up the white porcelain tea cup with smooth glaze, looked at the emerald green tea soup, and took a gentle sip. A fresh and mellow taste lingered in his mouth. He put down the teacup and said to Wei Zheng: "Xuancheng seems to have the spiritual root of water and fire. He has a special insight into water and fire. The wine you brew and the tea you brew are all unique."
Wei Zheng's wine-making skills are so high that even wine masters from the Western Regions ask him for advice. However, with the same technology, the same grapes and water, the same place and time, the wine made by others is not as good as his. If you When asked why, he said that if he felt it, he would take the next step.
What it is specifically, he himself can't tell why. When he brews wine, he relies entirely on his feelings. Feelings are such imaginary things that cannot be seen, touched, spoken, or written. They can only be understood but cannot be expressed in words. . Other winemakers don't have Wei Zheng's special talent, so the wine they brew is naturally not as good as his.
This is true for wine, and so is tea!
The tea he makes is better than others, and he also relies on his feeling.
"With such a talent, there is nothing I can do!" Wei Zheng put down the teapot with pride and joked: "If the king gives me a few years of leave, I will definitely be able to brew wine that is good enough for the king."
The royal officials were divided into two major systems: civil and military. Compared to the civil service system, the military attaché system has more important powers and responsibilities, because the Prince's Palace, Princess' Palace, and the East Palace all have their own military systems. The East Palace has ten troops, while the prince and princess are the six guardians, whose names are respectively the First House on the Left, the Second House on the Left, the Third House on the Left, the First House on the Right, the Second House on the Right, and the Third House on the Right. Each government has two thousand private soldiers, which means that Yang Ji has a quota of 12,000 private soldiers.
Each Sixth Guard Army is equipped with one main guard, two deputy guards, and four or so commanders, chief historian and Sima. The organization is the same as that of the imperial army, namely a thousand-man battalion, a two-hundred-man regiment, a hundred-man brigade, and a five-man brigade. Ten-man team, ten-man fire, five-man team.
It's just that although the system of each "small court" set up by the imperial court is very complete and legal, except for the East Palace, the official system of each prince and princess is basically full of people, especially the twelve thousand people commanded by the Sixth Guard Army. They were rationed to one soldier, and no one dared to raise that many seriously. However, despite the dissatisfaction with the establishment of the Prince's Mansion and the Princess' Mansion, the imperial court still pays full salary to each government every year in accordance with the official system and the military system. Therefore, Yang Ji has been short-term in accordance with the law from his birth to the present.
Although the establishment of Prince Wei's Mansion was dissatisfied, the Sixth Guard Army still existed, and Yang Ji's personal soldiers belonged to this system. In addition, there are some so-called guards, servants, and servants who are actually soldiers, but they cannot show it clearly, so daily management is very complicated and troublesome.
The head of the civil service system of Prince Wei's Mansion is Chief Shi Lingjing. His rank is from the fourth grade and he is in charge of various important political affairs in the government. The military attache system is dominated by Sima Haoyuan, and his rank is also from the fourth rank. Under the two of them, there are two senior officers from the fourth rank each, and Wei Zheng is the senior military officer from the left on the military attaché side. His duty is to assist Sima Hao Yuan in managing the important military affairs of the mansion.
Yang Ji looked at Wei Zheng with an "I've seen through you" look, and snorted coldly: "You want to be lazy, right? Just dream."
The Wei Zheng that Yang Ji knew was actually a very humorous and cheerful person, not pedantic at all, and he was very insightful about the flexible use of troops. If he is a rigid hypocrite, how can he go to make wine? If he was pedantic and old-fashioned, how could he become Li Jiancheng's mastermind? How could you suggest that Li Jiancheng strike first and kill Li Shimin by force?
The reason why he became that old-fashioned mirror in history is most likely that after his lord Li Jiancheng died, he faced the risk of being killed by the Tiancefu Group; and the role of Zhengchen Guchen, who offended people everywhere, can not only To protect himself and be able to scold Li Shimin for venting anger on himself and his old master, Wei Zheng embarked on the "human mirror way" that was unkind but in line with Li Shimin's needs.
When Wei Zheng heard this, he immediately looked horrified, picked up the cup of tea in front of him and said, "The king actually saw it, drink a cup of tea to calm down the shock."
Everyone laughed!
Fang Yanzao also laughed. He was a "newcomer" and was not very familiar with Yang Ji and these others. He was still a little cautious at first, but after this incident, his tense heartstrings relaxed. .
He likes this kind of atmosphere.
After a while of commotion, Hao Yuan looked at the interview book signed "Zhang Heng" that Yang Ji brought from the palace. There are two forms of content in the visit book: one is that before the year-end assessment is carried out, the central government first lists a list of officials and decides to focus on inspections and unannounced visits; the other is that after the inspection, the performance of the inspected officials is recorded in detail in the book , and the center’s comments on it.
This year's annual review has just begun, and the local evaluations have not yet been submitted to the central government, so the interview list in front of them is naturally the list of officials who will be subject to key inspections by the imperial court.
He asked Yang Ji: "Your Majesty, this year-end review should result in the dismissal of many officials, right?"
When it came to business, everyone suppressed their smiles and sat upright. Although they receive salaries from the court, eat "public meals", and are of high rank, they are essentially Yang Ji's personal staff and do not have the power to go to court to discuss state affairs. They are similar to noble officers, honorary officers, civil and military officials who do not have actual duties. official. This also allows them to understand the court's decision-making later than the ministers of the previous dynasty.
"That's for sure!" Yang Ji gave a definite answer, and then explained to everyone: "The sage organized this year's annual review and streamlined the military government. On the one hand, it was because the Jingzhou local government and the Southern Navy colluded to do this. , collusion to commit crimes; on the other hand is the fierce turmoil that occurred in Yongzhou when we went on an expedition and the saints patrolled Taiyuan. What the two have in common is collusion between the military and the government, collaboration with bandits, and harm to the local area. So it is far more complicated and strict than in previous years , the military and political parties jointly investigated, and naturally more civil and military officials were eventually arrested than in previous years."
Hao Yuan asked again: "Your Majesty, Liangzhou's military and political affairs are also included in the evaluation, right?"
"Exactly!" Yang Ji nodded and said: "We have too many enemies and they are very troublesome, so more than 80% of the officials do not want me to be a court official. However, what makes them both disgusted and helpless is that I I have accumulated several years of military exploits and several years of governance experience in Liangzhou, and now I have returned from destroying the country. Therefore, the saint has made me the Prime Minister of the Council. They really have no way to refute, and there is really no way to refute. be opposed to."
Hao Yuan and others smiled and nodded. What Yang Ji said were the benefits he had accumulated over the years. As far as Yang Ji's current situation is concerned, the only difference is that he is young, and the rest is hard to fault. .
Yang Ji had a strong backing, so he took the path of accumulation and advancement; and because he had such a powerful backing, everyone in the Weiwang family also took the path of accumulation and advancement. As long as everyone has strong ability, accumulated experience, and sufficient qualifications, , there is no fear at all that there will be no promotion opportunities. Although this method is good, if it is replaced by someone without a backing, it is almost an unworkable dead end.
"Our political opponents couldn't do anything to me, so they started with the military and political affairs of Liangzhou. As long as there is corruption in Liangzhou, I, the shepherd of Liangzhou, must bear full responsibility. It is precisely because of this that all the princes and representatives of major forces in the court We thought about it, so we made a tacit decision to focus on inspecting Liangzhou." Yang Ji said.
"Although the idea is good, their dreams are doomed to come true." Wei Zheng smiled coldly, bowed his hand to Yang Ji and said, "Your Majesty, the Liangzhou Prefectural Mufu has jurisdiction over Huining, Jincheng, Wuhan, Lintao, Chuihe, Wuwei , Zhangye, Dunhuang, Shanshan, Qiemo, Yinwu, Xizhou, and Tingzhou thirteen counties; the three counties of Xihai, Heyuan, and Ganquan under the jurisdiction of the Xihai Protectorate are also under the Liangzhou Prefectural Mufu, and even Da The Protectorate of the Lake District was also supervised by the Liangzhou Dynasty Court."
"In this vast area, there must be black sheep, but I think there are definitely not many black sheep, and their level is definitely not high. And the existence of these black sheep, not only cannot affect the overall situation, but also makes Liangzhou's military and political affairs very reasonable."
Yang Ji was deeply convinced and said: "Actually, I think so too, so we are not afraid of investigation at all. At the court today, Li Ziquan put forward the view that 'all states should take Liangzhou as a model and govern officials strictly'." Others extended it based on his ideas, and they all felt that since Liangzhou is a model for governing officials, they must not be afraid of investigation."
Hearing this, Liu Xiaosun couldn't help but ask: "Then what did the king say?"
"What else can I say?" Wei Zheng smiled brightly and said softly: "Your Majesty must be strict, double strict."
Yang Ji raised his finger in praise and laughed, "Haha, Xuancheng is right!"
The smile on Wei Zheng's face suddenly froze. He was just talking, but Yang Ji was actually serious?
The remaining people all had dark faces: "..."
After a long while, Hao Yuan frowned and said, "My lord, aren't you making it more difficult for yourself?"
Yang Ji knew this would be the case, and he said helplessly: "Those bastards all said so, and this is an unsolvable conspiracy. What do you think I can do? What would you do if it were you?"
At this moment, no one could speak.
Judging from Yang Ji's previous words, the other factions were clearly taking advantage of the situation to suppress him, but in that situation, Yang Ji had no other option and no way to avoid it. Moreover, Liangzhou was not afraid of investigation and could withstand investigation. What's there to be afraid of? What is there to hide?
Since it is unavoidable and we have confidence in our hearts, it is better to openly admit it than to go against the trend in a secretive manner.
When everyone thought about it, they no longer complained.
Seeing that Hao Yuan, Wei Zheng, Liu Xiaosun, and Li Xuandao were silent, Fang Yanzao coughed lightly and said, "Since Liangzhou is not afraid of investigation and can withstand investigation, the king is already in an invincible position. Wait until the other supervisory states are The results are out, your Majesty can definitely counterattack hard and make these hostile forces suffer today’s consequences!”
Yang Jimeng nodded: "Yes, that's what I think!"
"Your Majesty has a far-sighted vision, and I admire him even though he is humble!" Fang Yanzao said in admiration.
Hao Yuan, Wei Zheng, Liu Xiaosun, and Li Xuandao looked at Yang Ji happily and said to themselves, just be happy.
They are old men from the Wei Wang family. They know their lord well. They know that Yang Ji is very capable in fighting, destructive, and has many bad ideas. However, the level of political fighting is really worrying. He must not have thought of what Fang Yanzao has done. Said ones.
However, Yang Ji's shortcomings happened to be the value of his staff. If Yang Ji knew everything and was a master in everything, then their value would not be reflected and there would be no need for their existence.
"So what about this interview book?" Hao Yuan pointed to the interview book and asked Yang Ji curiously: "Could it be that Dr. Zhang Yushi is also an ally of the king?"
"In fact, I don't have many interactions with important ministers in the court, and my interactions with Zhang Yushi are even less. We can't be called allies. We can only be said to be like-minded Taoist friends." Yang Ji pondered for a while and introduced: "Before this year, the Yushitai belonged to the ears and eyes of the late emperors and saints, and was not an authentic institution. After the restructuring, although the Yushitai lost the color of the emperor's ears and eyes, the mechanism and rationing officials were not perfect, and there was a strong The nature of supervision makes the Censor Santai who was improved by the saint very unpopular."
"Doctor Zhang Yushi is far more pure than others, which is one of the reasons why the sage asked him to take charge of the Yushitai. Although he wants to make a difference, and although he wants to eliminate bad apples for the Sui Dynasty, Yushitai's mission this year is It is far more arduous than in previous years, it is not sound, and its manpower is insufficient; while other factions are extremely disgusted with Yushitai, and want to use this year's annual review and streamlining of the military government to kill Dr. Zhang Yushi and destroy Yushitai. It is impossible to cooperate with him. Since he and I both hope that the Sui Dynasty and the people will be good, we naturally became Tianse's allies. His interview list is not just a list of Liangzhou officials, but also officials from other states and counties. These are the key people to investigate.”
"Although he didn't say anything, I roughly guessed his intentions: He just thought that I had been fighting with the aristocratic families for a long time and must have collected some information about the children of the aristocratic families, so he wanted to hand it over to him for the Yushitai to investigate. .”
After a pause, Yang Ji continued: "I am Liangzhou Mu, Yangzhou Mu is Cai Wang Yang Zhiji, Jizhou Mu is Teng Wang Yang Lun, Qingzhou Mu is Dao Wang Yang Jing, Bingzhou Governor is my uncle Dugu Kai, and Jiaozhou Governor It’s Lu Guogong Liu Fang. In addition, Yizhou Governor Yang Wutong is on good terms with me. If I support him and cooperate with him, he will be able to get real information about officials in seven states who need to be rigorously interrogated."
Hao Yuan and others didn't think much after hearing this, but Fang Yanzao couldn't help but take a breath of cold air. If Yang Ji integrated the top people in the other six states, and also praised him more in Youzhou, then Yang Ji would He could easily control most of the Sui Dynasty.
The emperor was not a fatuous king, and he obviously knew this truth. However, the wise and powerful emperor not only had no doubts or suspicions, but instead favored and trusted Yang Ji. This has to be said to be an anecdote in history.
Hao Yuan asked: "What does the king think?"
Yang Ji said: "We can give him the real information about the officials on trial in Liangzhou. The saint and I jointly wrote a letter to the state pastors and governors in other states. As for the specific matters, he has to discuss them himself. .”
Is there any difference between "I and the saint jointly signed a letter" and now?
"I think it works." From this, Hao Yuan saw another opportunity to deal with the Li family in Longxi. As long as they highlighted the people related to the Li family in Longxi on the visit list, they could use the help of Yushitai to deal with them. cut off. The last thing the Wei Wang family has to deal with is the backbone of the Li family in Longxi, and the pressure will be reduced a lot because of Yushitai's actions.
This is not to say that they are cautious or timid, but that the Longxi Li family is connected with the Guanlong nobles and Guanzhong gentry, and they are really powerful. Compared with the Longxi Li family, the individual strength of the other six sects is not impressive at all. If the two Cui are combined, they may be able to suppress the Longxi Li family by three points.
The King of Wei family's overt and covert strength, allies, and connections are all inferior to others; their only advantage is to seize the opportunity. The other is Yang Ji, a prince who is deeply trusted by the emperor. However, Yang Ji's prince and many identities, as well as several other princes, are all a double-edged sword that can hurt both the enemy and oneself, and should not be used too much. It would be simpler and easier to do it through violence, but it is obviously impossible.
"Your Majesty, Miss Qiushui asked to see you. She said that a distinguished guest has arrived. The princess invites your Majesty to have lunch in the dining hall of the middle hall." At this time, Zhu Can's voice came from outside.
"I know!" Yang Ji explained a few more words to everyone, then stood up and left.
