At the end of the morning session the next day, Yang Guang specially left Yang Ji behind and asked someone to take him to the imperial garden behind Renshou Hall.
Yang Guang changed out of his crown and royal robe and put on his casual clothes. He walked toward the semi-enclosed pavilion where Yang Ji was. Behind him were several servants carrying various pastries, snacks, fine wines, and tea sets.
"Brother!" Yang Ji stepped forward to greet him.
Yang Guang waved his hand and said, "Let's sit down and talk..."
Yang Ji waited until Yang Guang took his seat, then walked to the stone bench opposite and sat down. The bench was covered with a futon, which didn't feel cold at all. After a while, the stone table in front of him was filled with all kinds of snacks.
A waiter was about to pour wine, but Yang Guang snatched it away and said, "I'll come, I'll come, you can get out of here."
Yang Guang was in great spirits. He dismissed the waiters, poured two glasses of red wine, handed one of them to Yang Ji, and invited him warmly: "Drink a few glasses with me!"
The emperor poured himself wine with his own hands, which may be a great honor in the eyes of ordinary people, and then thanked him sincerely, but Yang Ji was used to it. He glanced at Yang Guang and said, "Drinking early in the morning?"
Yang Guang stretched out his hand and said: "This wine is the tribute wine brought by Qu Boya from Gaochang Kingdom. It is said to be the best wine. Let's stop here and warm ourselves up."
Yang Ji took a sip from the glass, thought about it, and said, "It's no different from the previous Gaochang wine."
Yang Guang also drank a glass and filled it again: "Just looking at the wine and tasting the wine will naturally make you feel good. But if you think so, you are totally wrong."
"Then what should I think?" Yang Ji asked doubtfully.
Yang Guang said with a smile: "Qu Boya, the king of Gaochang, traveled thousands of miles to bring tribute wine. Not only did he kneel down and beg us to accept it, but he was also afraid that we wouldn't accept it. You are drinking this while thinking about the scene of Qu Boya prostrate on the ground. Gaochang fine wine; you will feel that what you are drinking is not wine, but the strength of the Sui Dynasty, as well as the weak and humble national character and soul of Gaochang. In this way, it feels particularly sweet."
As he said that, he drank a drink happily.
Yang Ji couldn't laugh or cry, and said: "The army is also idle. Next year we will simply destroy Gaochang. If we drink it then, it will feel more beautiful."
Yang Guang did not hide his thoughts in front of Yang Ji. He put down his wine glass and said: "It's not the right time yet. If we want to destroy it, we must destroy the Eastern Turks first, instead of the respectful small country of Gaochang. The Sui Dynasty is now looking down upon the world. , all the surrounding foreign races have surrendered, and as long as the Sui Dynasty destroys the Eastern Turks, those small countries in the Western Regions may not need us to fight, and they will ask for help."
"It's true. The countries in the Western Regions have few soldiers and few generals and small people. We, the Sui Dynasty, can annihilate them with a snap of our fingers. They know this truth well. As long as we, the Sui Dynasty, have hundreds of battles, they The invincible power and coercion of the Western Regions, they will definitely be afraid and surrender." Yang Ji has been in Liangzhou for many years. Naturally, he knows very well about the conditions of the countries in the Western Regions and the mentality of the kings of each country, and he agrees with Yang Guang's statement.
"The Qimin Khan of the Eastern Turks and the eldest prince Ashina Duji gave me a feeling of being out of control. I don't like this feeling very much. It is necessary for me, the Sui Dynasty, to weaken it and must not make it The Eastern Turks are the only one on the grassland!" Yang Guang paused and then said: "Qimin Khan is very scheming and very good at playing games of both sides and combining vertical and horizontal sides, but because of this, he seems to have many worries. , coupled with old age and poor health, he never dared to openly rebel against the Sui Dynasty. However, Ashina Duji was ignorant, fearless and brave. His respect for the Sui Dynasty was far less than that of Qimin Khan. Once he succeeded to the position of Khan, Even if you don’t dare to be an enemy of the Sui Dynasty, you will disobey the Sui Dynasty’s orders and attack Xue Yantuo, the Xue Hu Alliance, and the North and South Shiwei.”
"The second prince Ashina Qilifushu is good! We also decided to support him before and let him fight with Ashina Duji." Yang Ji pondered for a long time and asked Yang Guang: "Is there something unexpected? "
"Barely so!" Yang Guang said: "Qimin Khan himself had evil intentions in taking the initiative to pay tribute to animals. His purpose was to use our power in the Sui Dynasty to intimidate all the grassland ministries. As long as we authorize him, all ministries can Seeing him acting on behalf of our Sui Dynasty, he must be angry and dare not speak out, and let him exploit him. And he can get a large number of livestock from them, achieving the purpose of weakening various ministries with the power of the Sui Dynasty. However, after being understood and resolved by our Sui Dynasty, His conspiracy caused heavy losses to the East Turks, and he had the idea of abdicating the throne."
At this point, Yang Guang analyzed Qimin Khan's intentions to Yang Ji: "I think Qimin Khan's intention of abdicating the throne and replacing him with Ashina Duji was to cultivate a successor. Even if he abdicated, However, the power of East/Turk is actually still in his hands, but he is able to annihilate the opposition forces in the name of Ashina Duji behind the scenes. After he dies of old age, Ashina Duji's prestige and strength It has already surpassed the Eastern Turks. By then, Ashina Zilifu will have my Great Sui title as a guarantee. Even if he is not dead in the end, his strength will definitely be extremely weak and he will not be able to compete with Ashina Duji. "
Yang Ji was deeply convinced after hearing this, and said thoughtfully: "This must be the intention of Qimin Khan, but his intentions are not insurmountable."
Yang Guang quickly asked: "How to resolve it?"
"As long as he is not dead, we will not canonize Ashina Duji. It will create an image that our Sui Dynasty does not recognize Ashina Duji." Yang Ji said in a deep voice: "It is human to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. Due to their nature, the grassland people pay more attention to real things, and they have no concept of loyalty to the emperor. If the chiefs of various tribes see that I, the Sui Dynasty, do not recognize Ashina Duji, they will definitely have their own ideas."
Yang Guang's eyes lit up, and he added with understanding: "And then continue to add Ashina Qilifushu to the title?"
Yang Ji said: "That's exactly it!"
"I think this method is feasible." Yang Guang just mentioned the East/Turks and mentioned it as a matter of course. It was not the focus of the conversation.
He returned to the topic and said to Yang Ji: "The three major factions of Guanlong nobles have come to this day. The Yuan faction, which was once the strongest, has become extremely weak. Their power and influence in the army and officialdom are no longer as good as the other two factions. What do you think? Should we use the smuggling case to eliminate all the Yuan family and Yuan faction?"
"I don't think so. For now, it is more beneficial to preserve the Yuan family than to annihilate it." Yang Ji also considered Yang Guang's question in depth, and immediately said: "The Dou sect follows the line of the gentry, and their way of life is The main thing is to follow the trend, just like a trickling stream of water that turns around when encountering a stone. At this time, seeing that the powerful Yuan sect has been suppressed to this point, it will definitely not emerge. The Dugu sect dreams of restoring its former glory. If the Yuan family is suppressed, Uprooted, the Dugu sect will definitely merge with the Yuan sect. The combined power is really unmatched by the Dou sect. In addition, the Dou sect acts in a low-key manner, so they will definitely want the Dugu sect to be used as a business trip. But in this case, the Guanlong nobles The opportunity for internal fighting is lost.”
"The Dugu family has plotted against the Yuan family many times, and Dugu Shun turned against the Yuan family in order to secure the position of Minister of Justice and replace Changsun Chi. If he continues to retain the Yuan family, he can take advantage of the past grievances between the two families and the two factions, and The death of Yuan Shou caused the two major factions to continue fighting among themselves. When the two factions weakened in the internal fighting, the entire Guanlong nobility also weakened."
Hearing this, Yang Guang had already made a decision in his heart and nodded: "Then according to what you said, next, we will only target the specific smugglers, not the Yuan family or Yuan sect. There is one more thing, I want to Discuss with you."
"What's the matter?" Yang Ji asked
"The upcoming imperial examination!" Yang Guang looked at Yang Ji and said with a smile, "I plan to let the adult children of the emperor's relatives also take the examination."
Yang Ji was surprised and said: "What's the test? They can become officials casually. Do they still need to take the test?"
"I want to take this opportunity to understand everyone's true level." Yang Guang said: "When I assessed them in the past, they almost always came prepared. Even if they answer everything in the end, they are still a staff member. Their level is high, not their real level. I decided to let them take the exam together with the students. After affixing their names, the examiner will review and score them. The final score must be their own level. What do you think?"
Yang Ji nodded and said, "This is a good thing, I think it's okay."
Yang Guang looked at Yang Ji and said bewitchingly: "Your cultural level is so high. If you participate in this year's competition, you will definitely be the leader. How about you also take the exam?"
Yang Ji shook his head and laughed, and said: "Being the leader? You think too highly of me, I won't do it."
Yang Guang glanced at him and said excitedly: "Are you afraid of losing?"
"Of course I'm afraid!" Yang Ji didn't want to be fooled by Yang Guang and gave in directly: "In addition to the most important strategy, the imperial examination also includes filling in the blanks of scriptures, explaining scripture sentences, and reading comprehension that combines ancient and modern times, etc. . If I succeed in the exam, there will be no benefit; if I fail in the exam, it will be embarrassing. What should I do with it?"
Policy analysis is to write review articles based on the topic, and then add your own opinions and solutions. Yang Ji was at the top of the power field of the Sui Dynasty, and his knowledge, experience, and vision were beyond the reach of unsophisticated students; the articles he wrote may not be as gorgeous as those of his students, but he was sure that what he wrote The content absolutely goes to the core of the issue.
You can also cheat on poetry, but filling in the blanks in scriptures, explaining scripture sentences, reading comprehension, etc., which account for a high proportion of points, are definitely not as good as those students who focus on reading.
"It's really worthless!" Seeing that he was not fooled, Yang Guang said, "I think if I take the exam, I will be the leader."
As he spoke, he said very confidently: "I inherited the legacy of the late emperor and became the leader of the world. But at my level, even if I compete with the people in the world to take the martial arts examination or the imperial examination, the people in the world will not be able to pass me. The throne In the end, it will be me. Do you believe it or not?"
Seeing his proud look, Yang Ji said casually, "I don't believe it."
Yang Guang said "Hey" and said: "I might lose if I take the exam alone. If I take the martial arts examination and the imperial examination together, no one in the world will be able to beat me. Neither will you, King Wei." No exception."
Yang Ji was speechless. In fact, when he thought about it carefully, he found that although Yang Guang was very conceited and arrogant, Yang Guang felt that it was not bragging, but that Yang Guang did have the capital to be conceited and arrogant.
Yang Guang was also a child of a wealthy family who was born with a golden key, but he was different from most children of wealthy families. Yang Guang worked hard from childhood to adulthood; he always worked hard to practice martial arts and study hard. Even after he became the prince or emperor, he was still so hard-working. Hard work.
When it comes to martial arts, Yang Guang can move across the battlefield, shoot left and right, hit arrows, and swing a horse spear quite well. If the two of them had a life-and-death struggle, Yang Ji felt that he would most likely die. If it comes to commanding an army to fight, Yang Guang can still command hundreds of thousands of troops and command the army in an orderly manner. When it comes to literary talent, Yang Guang is actually the most outstanding literary master of the contemporary era. Even if he does not need to be flattered by others, the poems and songs he writes are among the top of the contemporary generation.
Of course, Yang Guang is neither omnipotent nor the best in everything. But if the martial arts examination and the imperial examination were taken together, the literary talents of the martial arts students would definitely be inferior to him, and the martial arts of the literary scholars would definitely be inferior to him. After the final score of each subject and item, his overall score would definitely be the highest.
Yang Guang saw the thoughtful look on Yang Ji's face and wanted to refute but couldn't. He suddenly laughed triumphantly: "How about it? You have nothing to say!"
"You're good, you're noble, you're amazing! I have nothing to say." At this point, Yang Ji had to admit that if he really wanted to take the test, Yang Guang could indeed be the emperor. It was not a matter of succession, but Yang Guang's. All aspects of knowledge are at the forefront, and in the end, no one is as good as him.
Yang Guang was even more proud. He pointed to a white plum tree in full bloom outside the pavilion and said: "Let's compare poems with the title of that plum tree and snow. If you win, I will give you twenty thousand taels of gold, and vice versa." !”
Yang Ji looked at the plum blossoms, the snow, the falling snowflakes, and the surrounding scenery, and immediately said: "I have two poems, so you will definitely lose. Wait for the money!"
"Oh? So soon?" Yang Guang didn't believe Yang Ji's lies at all, nor did he believe that he could compose poetry in such a short period of time. Two songs, that's even more impossible.
"Listen up!" Yang Ji said loudly: "There are several plum blossoms in the corner, and Ling Han is blooming alone. I know it's not snow from afar, because there is a faint fragrance coming."
"The plum blossoms and snow are fighting for the spring but they are not willing to fall, so Sao Renge writes and comments. The plum blossoms are three points whiter than the snow, but the snow loses the fragrance of the plum blossoms."
Yang Guang was stunned and speechless for a long time.
Now, it was Yang Ji's turn to be proud. He said to Yang Guang, "How is it? It's your turn!"
Yang Guang was stunned for a long time, feeling that no matter how he compared, he couldn't compare. He glanced at Yang Ji and said helplessly: "How can we compete? There is no way to compete. If you win, I will admit defeat!"
Yang Jim said with a smile: "Give me money, give me money!"
"I'm willing to admit defeat, I accept it!" Yang Guang was not a stingy person, so he asked, "You can carry it back by yourself, right?"
Yang Ji shook his head: "Of course I can't carry so much. Can't you just send someone to the palace?"
"It's okay if I send someone to see you off." Yang Guang nodded, but put forward his own conditions: "But you must make a good preface. Just say that we were drinking, appreciating plum blossoms, and discussing poetry, and it was I who inspired you. The rise of poetry."
It is no exaggeration to say that these two poems about plum blossoms are masterpieces of the ages, especially the latter, which is a perfect example of the subject of snowy plum blossoms. Once word spreads, it will definitely set the Sui literary world on fire. Although this was written by Yang Ji, as a participant, Yang Guang of course wanted to get some fame from these two poems.
As for money and stuff, he has plenty and doesn't care at all.
Yang Ji said grandly: "No problem! But you have to pay more."
Yang Guang: "..."
