Fang Jie would never have thought that he would unknowingly be involved in a bloody storm that swept both inside and outside the Sui Dynasty, even though he was only a minor figure on the edge of this storm. Of course, even His Majesty the Sui Emperor, who controlled this storm, did not care at all about such an inconspicuous frontier pawn like Fang Jie.
This storm that the emperor launched in advance to expand his territory was to enhance his prestige to the highest level, to make the courtiers put away all the respect they should have for the emperor, and to let the courtiers know that when the emperor decided to When something happens, no one can stop it. Since they can't stop it, they, the ministers, can only do their best to assist the emperor in doing this.
Therefore, the death of Hou Junci, the Minister of War, was just the beginning, the beginning of the emperor's power.
If the emperor doesn't take action first, once he announces his decision to use troops in the northwest, there will definitely be many supporters, but there is no doubt that there will also be many people in the court who dare to stand up and oppose it. When the time comes, they will listen in the court It was an extremely long process for the adults to argue back and forth. The emperor was not in the mood, not interested, and had no time to watch their gradual transformation from theory to mutual slander and abuse.
Kill a few people, especially if there are important people among those killed. In this way, the mouths of the courtiers will be shut.
It has been several years since an official was killed. The emperor may have felt that his majesty was gradually decreasing. And once the war starts, what he needs is a Sui Dynasty that works together. What he needs is a Sui Dynasty with him as the center and everyone working hard for this war.
After Huaiqiugong got off Yu Donglai's carriage, Yu Donglai suddenly became enlightened and knew what he should do. It was at this time that he understood the true meaning of His Majesty the Emperor asking him to reflect at home for a day. If Huai Qiugong hadn't reminded him, he wouldn't have understood what the emperor asked him to reflect on. I just thought that His Majesty really just asked him to reflect behind closed doors.
What I reflect on is the list of people who should lose their heads.
This list cannot be too heavy or too light, so he really needs to use his brain to think about it carefully. And the moment he stepped off the carriage, he also understood that although this incident would cause some harm to him, the benefits must far outweigh the harm. So after seeing off Huaiqiu Gong, Yu Donglai had a smile on his lips.
Your Majesty wants to take action on the Ministry of War, and he will draw up the list.
Those who are going to die are those who disagree with the emperor¡¯s idea of ????the Western Expedition. As for Yu Donglai, who is the Minister of the Ministry of War no, he is now the Minister of the Ministry of War. He will naturally stand firmly on the side of the emperor. Therefore, the people who will join the Ministry of War will definitely be those who support His Majesty's Western Expedition. He can arrange his own people for the vacant positions.
Hou Junci and he have always been in harmony with each other. His Majesty did not want officials in any ministry to be too united, so he was happy to see him and Hou Junci scheming. One was a minister and the other a minister. The more fierce the fight, the happier your majesty would be. But things are different now. What His Majesty wants is a military department that must be united, and even the entire court that must be united. And with this opportunity, he can firmly hold the Ministry of War in his hands, so compared to what he loses, he gains much more.
When Yu Donglai returned to his home, he had all the doors of the house closed, so that no guests could be seen, no matter who they were. The lights in Yu Donglai's study stayed on all night, and it wasn't until the evening of the next day that the door of the study was opened from the inside. Yu Donglai, with red eyes, looked as tired as if he had just run fifty miles, but his expression was different. There was a puzzling ease about it.
After leaving the study, Yu Donglai went back to the bedroom and fell asleep without even washing or eating. He slept until the next dawn. After getting up, Yu Donglai did not wear the official uniform of the Minister of the Ministry of War, but went straight to the palace in ordinary clothes. He was holding a small box in his hand, which contained a memorial.
Ouchi Guards Office
Luo Weiran, the commander of the Imperial Guard Department, slowly picked up the cup, blew on the tea leaves floating in the cup and took a slow sip. This tea was a high-quality Dahongpao gifted to him by Wu Yiyi, the richest man in the Sui Dynasty a while ago. A pound of this kind of tea could be exchanged for a not too small house in the imperial capital.
Hou Wenji, the governor of Qingya Town, pushed open the door and walked in. He couldn't help but sniffed and praised the smell.
Luo Weiran smiled, poured a cup of tea for Hou Wenji with his own hands and said with a smile: "The gloom on your brows in the past two days has finally disappeared. Today I see a smile on the corner of your mouth Why, we saw you yesterday Your Majesty, has everything been done?"
Hou Wenji sat down, picked up the teacup and put it under his nose and smelled it. He did not rush to answer Luo Weiran's question, but couldn't help but sigh: "This pound of tea is worth my annual salary." can not afford."
Luo Weiran smiled and said: "You look down on this tea so much."??I can't afford it with my two-year salary anyway. "
"This is the most authentic single-branch Dahongpao. In addition to the ones dedicated to His Majesty, no more than five kilograms are circulated in the world every year. There are so many rich people in the Sui Dynasty that they can afford this top-quality Dahongpao. However, Not everyone can buy it if they want to, it depends on whether they have the reputation.¡±
Hou Wenji nodded and said: "No official would dare to buy such an expensive thing. As long as someone buys it the censors of the Overwatch Council will have something to do."
Luo Weiran laughed.
Hou Wenji took a sip of tea and slowly breathed a sigh of relief. He waved his hand to signal the guard standing at the door to close the door. He put down the tea cup, glanced at Luo Weiran and said, "You still have a thorough understanding of this matter. If you hadn't given me this idea, I really don't know how I would have passed this level."
Luo Weiran shook his head and said: "Even if I don't help you come up with a lie, Your Majesty will still let you pass this test. Why haven't you figured it out yet? What Your Majesty wants is not to be ugly regardless of this lie. No matter what, Your Majesty will draw his anger to the Ministry of War."
He glanced at Hou Wenji and smiled: "Do you think His Majesty is really still kept in the dark? You have been the governor of Qingya Town for too longso long that even you think that Qingya is Yours. But you have forgotten that Qingyao has always belonged to His Majesty If His Majesty wants to know something, can anyone in Sui Dynasty hide it? "
Hou Wenji was startled, his expression changed and he had to nod his head: "I was indeed too presumptuous."
Luo Weiran smiled and said: "It's okay, you have already given what His Majesty asked for Speaking of which, His Majesty's move was so beautiful. It was so beautiful that everyone was caught off guard, not just the Ministry of War and us."
"Who else?"
Hou Wenji asked.
Luo Weiran rolled her eyes at him and said, "Why pretend to be stupid? People like you can't even pretend to be stupid!"
¡°I just don¡¯t know who you are referring to in particular.¡±
"Who else could it be? The war in the northwestwho will be involved first?"
"Li Yuanshan?"
"Yes His Majesty must rely on Li Yuanshan when deploying troops in the northwest. The Youxiao Guard has been stationed in the northwest border for many years. There is no reason to leave such a force with amazing combat power and familiarity with the terrain unused. Once the war starts, the Youxiao Guard He must be the vanguard to clear away obstacles for the army.¡±
Hou Wenji was silent for a while after hearing Luo Weiran's words. He frowned and pondered and suddenly woke up. He slapped his forehead and said, "I just realized that your Majesty's chess move is so beautiful that people dare not not admire it." ! Kill three birds with one stone!¡±
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Hou Wenji pondered for a while and said: "First, by making a big fuss about Fan Gu this time, let the generals and civil servants in the army calm down, kill a few people, suppress a few people, and the officials in the court will no longer think they are righteous. Do you dare to disobey His Majesty at this moment? Unless you don¡¯t want to live anymore, or you want to take off your official skin and work in the fields.¡±
"Second, kill all the guys in the Ministry of War who happen to be in charge of military affairs, but who are not of the same mind as His Majesty. In this way, people in the Ministry of War must work with trepidation and do their best, lest they do something wrong and follow in the footsteps of your Majesty. War. Once it starts, logistics and supplies are the top priority, and the deployment of the military department is very critical. Your Majesty's purge of the military department at this time will definitely be beneficial to the war. "
"Thirdly, since Your Majesty wants to use troops against the northwest, he must use Li Yuanshan's Right Houwei With Li Yuanshan's ability and the 50,000 elite soldiers of Youhou Wei, I'm afraid that after the war begins, military achievements will be added one after another. On him. And in order to show the power of the Sui Dynasty and boost morale, His Majesty will not reward the meritorious soldiers But Li Yuanshan is already the Duke of the country, a third-rank general, and if you reward him again what else can you reward him with? ? Is it possible to be promoted to the rank of second-level general?"
Luo Weiran shook his head: "Emperor Taizu taught that there must never be any king with a different surname in the Sui Dynasty. Even royal family members, except for the emperor's brothers and heirs, are not allowed to be crowned kings. Even if Li Yuanshan relies on his fifty thousand or so The Houwei defeated Meng Yuan and captured the great Khan Meng Ge alive, but there was no hope of being crowned king."
Hou Wenji said with a smile: "So, your majesty must suppress Li Yuanshan before launching troops. Suppress all his officials and titles, so that once the war starts and Li Yuanshan has made great achievements, your majesty only needs to reinstate his officials and give him some rewards." Land, gold and silver are enough This is the beauty of Your Majesty¡¯s chess move. The more you think about it, the more incredible it becomes.¡±
He sighed: "Killing three birds with one stonewonderful!"
Luo Weiran shook his head and said: "It's not like killing three birds with one stone If this stone falls, I don't know how many birds will be killed."
He clasped his fingers and said, "Except for the three things you mentioned,?, there are many people and things that have been calculated by His Majesty's move. For example, His Majesty wants to establish his authority and prevent everyone from disrespecting the imperial power in the slightest before the war begins. In this way, there will be no obstruction to His Majesty's command of the Western Expedition. For example, if you double the salary of the border troops, regardless of whether it is implemented or not, once the news is released, the soldiers of the border troops will definitely be grateful to His Majesty. Once a war breaks out, who wouldn't fight bravely when the border troops fight? "
"Another example¡¡"
Luo Weiran looked at Hou Wenji and said word by word: "Knock knocking you, the Qingya Town Envoy, your Majesty may also want to tell you Qingya, it has been His Majesty's Qingya from the beginning to the end. It is left to you to fight." Reasoninstead of giving the gift of love to you, it becomes yours."
Hou Wenji nodded, took a sip of the slightly cold tea and said softly: "Should I give some more rights to others? Seven years ago, I took Mr. Zhuo out of the prison and brought him to the love office. With him here these past seven years, His Majesty has no doubts about me But at this juncture, it seems that I should give some more away. "
Luo Weiran shook his head: "Points? If you really dare to bring it up now, His Majesty will immediately call you an idiot! His Majesty is beating you at this time not because he doubts you, but precisely because His Majesty still trusts you Otherwise, you think His Majesty just punishes you for three years. What's wrong with your salary? Even a high-ranking member of the imperial court wouldn't dare do anything to you, Hou Zhenfu, but His Majesty wants to kill you with just one word."
Rather than being panicked, Hou Wenji smiled and said, "I know."
Luo Weiran said: "I know I'm still pretending."
Hou Wenji smiled and said: "If I don't confirm it from your mouth, I won't be at ease. I think so, and you think so too Then nine times out of ten, it is His Majesty who thinks so."
Luo Weiran glared at him and cursed: "Old fox!"
Hou Wenji stood up, straightened his clothes and prepared to leave: "I am not an old fox Even if I am, I am still a very energetic fox, in my prime."
Luo Weiran laughed and scolded: "Go to hell, you have always been in your prime."
And while the two big shots were chatting, the little guy Fang Jie finally entered Gyeonggi Province after three months of travel. Although it still takes a while to walk, once you enter Gyeonggi Province, you will be close to the heart of Sui Dynasty. Fang Jie, who was riding on a red horse, looked ahead and squinted his eyes slightly, listening intently. The big dog asked him confusedly what he was listening to.
Fang Jie smiled and said, "Try to see if you can hear Da Sui's heartbeat."