Entering the White Horse Temple Zen Monastery under Li Mi's care, Yang Ji saw an unexpected person, that is his father-in-law Sun Sheng.
Changsun Sheng was now the General of Youxiaowei, Sima of Bingzhou Governor's Office, and deputy Turk envoy. He was the right-hand man of Yang Ji's uncle Dugukai. However, at this time, he was having a lively chat with Li Zhongwen in the Zen courtyard, which was really surprising. It was beyond Yang Ji's expectation.
Next to them, in addition to Chai Shao and Niu Fangda, who were about to leave, there were also Yang Xuanzang, Yang Xuanting, Yang Jishan, and more than twenty scribes and warriors wearing light robes whom Yang Ji didn't recognize. In addition, Li Gang and Li Jiancheng were the master and apprentice in history.
Seeing the intimacy between the two, Yang Ji couldn't help but feel anxious for Li Jiancheng; Li Gang would be unlucky for whoever he got in contact with; if you were so close to him, what else could you do if you weren't seeking death?
"Masters, the king, Brother Dharma Master, and General Zong are here." Chai Shao was chatting with Niu Fangda while paying attention to the courtyard door. When Yang Ji and others entered the courtyard, he reminded him with a smile.
After hearing Chai Shao's reminder, everyone stopped talking and stepped forward to salute: "See you, Your Majesty!"
Yang Ji quickened his pace, clasped his fists and returned the greeting: "Thank you for waiting so long, Wenhui has been discourteous! Wenhui has been discourteous!"
"Your Majesty, you're welcome!" Everyone clasped their fists and said.
Changsun Sheng did not come forward to salute, but just looked at Yang Ji with a smile on his face. It was not until everyone had finished the ceremony that he stepped forward and cupped his hands and said: "My father-in-law, I have come all the way from Taiyuan, but you are in Luoyang City, but you are the last to come. ; Later, I will punish you with three cups of wine."
"How can three cups be enough?" Yang Jiahao said angrily, "Three sips are enough at least!"
"Haha, haha..." Everyone was stunned for a moment, then laughed.
Yang Ji then said to Changsun Sheng: "My father-in-law, my son misses his sister Guanyin so much in his dreams. Is my daughter-in-law not back yet?"
Yang Ji was a prominent figure in the Sui Dynasty. It is not an exaggeration to say that he was inferior to one person and superior to tens of thousands of people. All major forces and various aristocratic families were collecting information about him. Naturally, they knew about his eldest son Yang Hao and his eldest grandson. How old is Chen’s little daughter? At this time, everyone laughed louder when they heard him say that his son, who was under the age of enlightenment, was overly lovesick.
Changsun Sheng also laughed and said: "I am here, but due to official business, I am accompanied by Yuwen Shangshu and Shi Honglu Temple Minister to accompany Jieli Khan's envoy. Their mother and daughter will not arrive until tomorrow. "
Li Zhongwen, the Duke of Zhenxiang County, was Li Mi's uncle. Seeing that the two in-laws were in a quarrel, he smiled and stretched out his hand to signal: "Your Majesty, Mr. Changsun, you can discuss your family matters after you go back and close the door; now it's time to drink! Especially! It’s your Majesty, you must drink the three sips of fine wine first.”
"Haha!" Everyone laughed again.
Yang Ji couldn't help but laugh: "Mr. Zhenxiang is right, please invite me!"
"Your Majesty, please, all gentlemen," Li Zhongwen also said.
Everyone talked and laughed and entered the dining hall.
Yang Ji looked at the way the seats were arranged, and he knew the layout of a private banquet; and this kind of banquet is usually based on seniority and age. If he stupidly holds his head high and sits at the head of the table, others will They didn't dare to say anything, but everyone must have said that the Yang family was "ignorant and disrespectful to their elders."
After some humility, the sixty-two-year-old Li Gang sat on the left of the chief, and the fifty-eight-year-old Chang Sun Sheng sat on the right of the chief. Their seats were together.
Seeing this, Yang Ji secretly wondered. Li Zhongwen and Li Mi were the descendants of Li Bi. Li Bi classified himself as the Li family in Longxi because Yuwentai "returned to Guanzhong". Therefore, even if Li Gang is not a guest, it is not his turn to sit at the head of the table representing the host.
Li Gang was followed by a Confucian scholar in his forties or fifties with gray hair. Due to the commotion just now, Yang Ji didn't know who he was.
The next in line of this person are Li Zhongwen and Li Mi's uncle and nephew, followed closely by Shi Niu Fangda and Chai Shao, the chiefs of Dahu District.
There is nothing wrong with this arrangement. After all, Li Mi, Niu Fangda, and Chai Shao are about to travel far, so Niu and Chai are also one of the hosts of this banquet to a certain extent.
Next came Li Jiancheng; after that, there were several scribes whom Yang Ji still didn't recognize.
On the guest side, Yang Ji sat under Chang Sun Sheng, followed by Yang Xuanzang, Yang Xuanting, and Yang Jishan.
Yang Su's three sons are considered the same generation as Yang Ji and are much older than Yang Ji. However, the three brothers have no actual positions except for titles and casual officials. In addition, Yang Ji represents the face of the Sui royal family. If he is allowed to sit behind the three of them. The master is seriously disrespectful.
Yang Jishan bowed his head, but Yang Ji didn't recognize anyone.
Apparently, they were relatives and friends invited by Li Mi, Niu Fangda, and Chai Shao.
While the people below were being polite to each other due to the seat arrangement, Yang Ji took the teapot to Yang Xuanzang and asked quietly: "Brother, do you know the middle-aged scribe under Duke Wen Ji?"
Yang Xuanzong thanked him and whispered bitterly: "This person is Li Delin's rebellious son Li Baiyao. This bastard is too humiliating. If my father hadn't dealt with it properly, my family would have become the laughing stock of the world because of him."
"It turns out it's him!" Yang Ji was stunned when he heard this.
Li Baiyao was born in the Boling branch of the Li family in Zhao County and was a descendant of Li Gu, the Taiwei of the Eastern Han Dynasty. When he was young, he was fortunate enough to attend a banquet hosted by Yang Su. However, he actually fell in love with a dancer and singer in Yang Su's house. After the party, he became obsessed with sex and climbed over the wall at night to crawl into Yang Su's house in an attempt to have a tryst with the woman. However, Li Baiyao was frail and sick, and he was an authentic weak scholar. As soon as he climbed over the wall, he was caught by the guards of the Yang family who were heavily guarded. At that time, Yang Su's enemies were all over the world. The guards of the Yang family thought that there were a bunch of assassins coming, and they were everywhere. The inspection was carried out and the whole city became aware of the commotion.
After being tortured and tortured, it turned out that Li Baiyao committed the crime alone because he was a womanizer. In the end, everyone thought that Yang Su had been cuckolded.
Yang Su originally wanted to kill him with a knife, but he found out that this bastard was actually the eldest son of Li Delin, the imperial eunuch. He was immediately dumbfounded. It would be wrong to kill him or not to kill him, so he said, "I heard that you are good at writing, and you can write poems to narrate yourself. Saying my will will save you from death."
The implication is that it is absolutely impossible for Li Baiyao to write it. When the time comes, it will make sense to end it with one blow. But he never expected that Li Baiyao was so talented that he could finish it in one go and write it immediately.
Yang Su was always a face-saving person, so he would not go back on his words to his juniors. After reading the article, he found that the other party was indeed well-written, and there were many people watching. In order to resolve the crisis of his reputation, he He simply gave the singing girl to Li Baiyao as his wife on the spot, and paid him hundreds of thousands in salary. After that, he invited Yang Jian to appoint Li Baiyao as the official wailang of the Minister of Rites.
Li Baiyao had both wealth and sex, and he became an official because of this incident, which became a good story for a while. And Yang Su accepted the reputation of "adult beauty" with a strong smile.
Yang Ji originally thought that Yang Su was indeed an "adult beauty", but now after hearing Yang Xuanzong's words with gritted teeth and hatred, and thinking about it again, he realized that it was a very successful "public relations crisis".
Family members and dignitaries have great reputations. If Li Baiyao was an ordinary flower-picking thief, he would kill him. But the flower-picking thief was the son of Nei Shiling. What else could Yang Su do besides doing this?
Speaking of which, Li Baiyao is also stupid.
There are many singers in Yang Su's family, and there is also a tigress that he admires fiercely. In fact, he doesn't take any of the singers seriously. If Li Baiyao came directly to ask for marriage, Yang Su would definitely look at Li Delin's face as an internal historian, and he would be happy with his adult beauty. Why bother? But this bastard actually went to steal it, which made Yang Su almost embarrassed and unable to step down, and he almost died because of his beauty.
It was also a good thing that he met the majestic Yang Su. If it were him, he would definitely make Li Baiyao's life worse than death afterwards.
Just because this bastard was so insulting, Yang Su, who was deeply hurt by it, almost couldn't hold his head up. But judging from Yang Xuanzang's appearance, their brothers still remember the humiliation Li Baiyao brought to his father and the family. So this matter is not over yet.
However, the focus of Yang Ji's thinking at this time was not on this issue, but on the ranking of subjects.
The chief Li Gang was a child of the Li family in Zhaojun, as was the second-ranking Li Baiyao, while Li Zhongwen and Li Mi were originally from Xiangping, Liaodong. Could it be that Li Zhongwen's uncle and nephew were preparing to change their families and "acknowledge their ancestors and return to their clan" again because of the serious case of the Li family in Longxi? Li Jiancheng, whose ancestral home seems to be Zhao County, also has this idea?
If the conjecture is true, it means that the Shandong nobles are trying to gain control of the Long nobles; once Er Li officially announces his "return to Zhao County", a big drama will surely take place between the two major forces.
As for Li Ziquan, that’s it. Li Ziquan seems to be very prosperous now, but Yang Guang has long been dissatisfied with his jumping up and down. If he greedily incorporates the two "Zhuguo" families into the Li family of Zhao County, if he continues to work in the Chen family's rebellion case If he is incompetent or has selfish motives, he will be the first to be taken down.
His successor may be the loyal Henan Prefecture Yin Lu Chu, or Cui Junsu, the Minister of Rites. However, the former is at least 70%, while the latter is backed by the rich and powerful Er Cui; this alone is not liked by the emperors in the prosperous era.
. . . . . . .
"Sage, Zhao Deyan, the envoy of Jieli, has come outside the palace on the order of the saint. Do you want to announce him to the palace for an audience?" Zhige General Dugu Lingping walked into the Wensi Hall of the palace and reported to Yang Guang at the door.
"You came so quickly!" Yang Guang did not stop writing. He wrote the approval quickly and then said: "Let the envoy enter the palace. By the way, which prime minister is staying in the meeting hall today?"
Dugu Lingping replied respectfully: "Sage, today King Ande is in charge."
"Where is King Wei? Didn't I ask you to call someone?" Yang Guang put down his pen and took a sip from the tea cup.
Yang Ji once told him that Zhao Deyan was a spy of the Sui Dynasty. He met him once last time and talked for a long time. This time, Zhao Deyan was sent by Jieli as an envoy to the Sui Dynasty. He wanted to meet Yang Ji They met together, so they summoned Zhao Deyan and at the same time sent someone to invite Yang Ji.
Dugu Lingping said: "According to the Imperial Guard, King Wei went to Baima Temple to worship Buddha and have a vegetarian feast."
"Pfft" Yang Guang couldn't hold it back and spurted out a mouthful of tea. He felt that the most ridiculous thing in the world was this: Yang Ji was not a Buddhist to begin with, and at least millions of people died directly or indirectly at his hands.
Faced with such a murderous god, even the Buddha is probably afraid and would not dare to worship him.
What kind of Buddha is he worshiping?
"Sage, do you want to invite King Wei here?" Dugu Lingping asked for instructions.
"Forget it, it's rare that he looks like a normal person, so let him go!" Yang Guang put down the teacup, waved his hand and said, "Just call King Ande here."
"Here!" Dugu Lingping responded and left.
…
The meeting hall is located in the East Hall of the Imperial City, southwest of the Wensi Hall in the palace city. After hearing the news, Yang Xiong rushed over and saluted: "Old minister, see the saint!"
"Brother Wang, please take a seat. We will meet with Envoy Jieli Zhao Deyan later." Yang Guang said.
"Thank you, saint!" Yang Xiong saluted and took his seat. Seeing that the "guest" had not arrived, he bowed to Yang Guang and said, "Sage, I saw that the Turks were frightened. There is no need to deal with them. It is better to work hard to defeat the Turks." Uprooted?"
"How can it be so simple?" Yang Guang said: "If I had the same idea as you before, that is to eliminate all evil. However, some things cannot be solved by killing them all."
"Please ask the saint to clarify your doubts!" Yang Xiong said solemnly.
Yang Guang was in a very good mood at the moment and said with a smile: "Vajra Slave once proposed a concept called 'Empire Extreme Wall'. Everyone knows this, so he did not occupy the Haidong Peninsula, which I, the Sui Dynasty, cannot actually control."
"In the same way, even if we wipe out the Turks, we still won't be able to occupy the vast northern grasslands, and they will definitely be occupied by rising new forces. And compared to the Turks who were defeated by us, the enterprising new forces will not be able to conquer the Turks. They will be afraid of me, the Sui Dynasty, and when the time comes, the north will be even more chaotic. Therefore, retaining the Turks who are afraid of the Great Sui Dynasty will be beneficial to the Great Sui Dynasty, and will allow me, the Great Sui Dynasty, to better control the northern grasslands."
"It's the saint who sees far." Yang Xiong complimented at the right time.
Yang Guang chuckled: "It's not that I see far, but that of the Vajra slave. That boy's theory seems to be wrong, but if you think about it carefully, it is indeed the same thing."
"Sage, the envoy of Jieli has arrived outside the palace." A chamberlain rushed over and saluted Yang Guang.
Yang Guang nodded and said, "Let him come in."
"Here!" the chamberlain agreed, quickly retreated, and after a while, he brought in the gorgeously dressed Zhao Deyan.
"Zhao Deyan, a common man, is a saint." Zhao Deyan spoke with a pure Chinese accent and claimed to be a man, which made Yang Xiong look at the so-called Jieli envoy in astonishment.
Yang Guang knew where Zhao Deyan came from. He waved his hand to the chamberlain to retreat, then asked Zhao Deyan to take his seat, and asked, "Qing Zhao, what's the current situation in East Turkestan?"
The last time Zhao Deyan entered the court, he had met Yang Xiong, and now he saw Yang Guang. Since he let him sit next to him, he was obviously the emperor's confidant. He saluted Yang Guang and said: "Sage, the situation in the Eastern Turks is actually Not good. They were first annihilated by King Wei with more than 100,000 troops in the Great Lakes area, and then they were killed by King Wei around Madam Fan City and Yanran Mountain, creating a dilemma where there were many boys and girls."
"Saint, the war between the three Ashina brothers has actually begun. Although they did not formally declare war, the battle started from the moment Chuluo Khan left the north. To put it shamelessly, Jieli said this The tribute is actually the result of the people’s advice.”
After glancing at Yang Guang, Zhao Deyan continued: "The southern part of our Sui Dynasty lacks animal power, and the border areas of Liangzhou lack population. The grassroots people have persuaded Jieli to become a vassal of our Sui Dynasty and offer animals and women, which will just solve our Sui Dynasty's worries. .”
Yang Xiong originally thought that Zhao Deyan was a "Sui traitor" and despised him. After hearing his words, he finally understood that this guy was actually from the Sui Dynasty. But in his heart he couldn't help but feel silent condolences for Jieli Khan and Ashina Doqi.
Your trusted military advisor is the work of our Sui Dynasty. Are you surprised or surprised?
Thinking of this, Yang Xiong couldn't help it anymore and asked curiously: "Can you convince him?"
Zhao Deyan bowed and said, "What King Ande doesn't know is that Jieli Khan Ashina is extremely ambitious. He dreams of becoming someone like Ashina Tumen and Ashina Rangan. He thinks that the beginning and the end are Neither the Khan nor Chuluo Khan had the ability to bring up the Turks, so he despised his brother very much. However, he was the weakest, so he planned to learn from his father, gain the support of the Sui Dynasty, and then establish a A Turkic dynasty with supreme monarchy.”
"Because he is weak now, he does not have a clear-cut Shibi Khan. The so-called self-reliance now is actually a play performed by the two brothers to defraud the Sui Dynasty of materials and support. If our Sui Dynasty supports Jie Li , in fact, it means support from beginning to end.”
Yang Xiong's eyes widened and he said, "In other words, Jieli is still Shibi's confidant at this moment?"
"That's right!" Zhao Deyan nodded and said: "At this time, Jie Li is still Shi Bi's confidant, at least, that's what Shi Bi, Ashina Simo, Ashina Chijishe and other nobles think. However, They all underestimated Jie Li, who had long planned to take advantage of everyone's trust and kill the unpopular Shi Bi who was bent on rebelling against the Sui Dynasty."
"Jieli has already taken over part of the military power at this time, and many Turkic nobles support him. If he suddenly attacks Shibi, Shibi will definitely be finished. But he can easily and logically take over everything in Shibi."
Looking at Zhao Deyan with a calm face, Yang Xiong felt a little chilly in his heart, even as an enemy of the Turks; but at this moment he couldn't help but sympathize with Shibi Khan.
Jieli Khan seems to have the general situation in hand, but he has a "confidant" like Zhao Deyan, who is always talking about the Turks becoming stronger again. This is simply a big joke.
