Zhu Changxiao's version of the Sui Dynasty

This evening, the moon and stars were sparse, and the palace lanes were dark and quiet. Only the lights in Ning'an Hall were lit. Emperor Sui Yang and Empress Xiao held candles and talked about important affairs of the country.

When talking about the Sui Dynasty's use of troops in the border areas, Empress Xiao was very surprised. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty said:"Although the nine states were unified in the Sui Dynasty, scabies outbreaks in the border areas continued one after another. I plan to attack the Linyi Kingdom first and recover Jiaozhi in South Vietnam."

Xiao The queen said:"South Vietnam's Jiaozhi is far to the southwest, more than ten thousand miles away. Since ancient times, we have always made close contacts with distant enemies. Why would your Majesty go to war over that remote and barbaric land?"

"Even though the southwest is desolate, it is the land of the Sui Dynasty. Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, has Jiaozhi County, and I also want Jiaozhi. Tomorrow morning, I will discuss with the officials to attack Jiaozhi."

Empress Xiao looked at Emperor Sui Yang's sworn expression, and she felt a trace of unspeakable worry in her heart. She placed her hope in the court that one of the hundreds of officials would state the pros and cons and advise the emperor to use troops prudently.

The next morning, hundreds of officials came to court. After the officials bowed in obeisance, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty said:"Today morning, I would like to tell you all about the Jiaozhi County in the southwest. I heard that it was supposed to be my territory of the Sui Dynasty, but I don't know when it became the territory of the Linyi Kingdom. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty cast his eyes on Zhuge Ying and said,"Zhuge Aiqing, you are very knowledgeable and talented. Please tell everyone.""

"Obey the decree."Zhuge Ying came out and talked:"The natives of South Vietnam are barbaric and rude, but records of Jiaozhi County have existed since the pre-Qin Dynasty. Later, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty destroyed the barbarian gangs of South Vietnam and established the three counties of Jiaozhi, Jiuzhen and Rinan, which have been included as prefectures and counties since then. Kyushu territory. In the 16th year of Jianwu's reign in the Eastern Han Dynasty, two sisters, Zheng Bie and Zheng Er, raised their troops to rebel. The rebels captured sixty-five cities and Zheng Bie proclaimed himself king. Two years later, the Eastern Han Dynasty sent General Fubo Ma Yuan to lead his troops to quell the rebellion. The following year, the Zheng sisters were defeated and executed."

After hearing this history, all the civil and military officials whispered to each other and discussed in low voices. Zhuge Ying raised his voice and said:"On the day when General Fubo Ma Yuan won the victory, he erected a bronze pillar in Guangping Mansion, Jiaozhi County, and designated it as Han Dynasty. Towards the southern boundary of the pole, there is an inscription engraved on the pillar: 'If the copper pillar is broken, Jiaozhi will be destroyed'. The copper pillars still exist today."

After telling this allusion, everyone was whispering to each other and discussing privately. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty said:"Before this, I ordered Xiao Cong and Yang Su to plan a military strategy. Please tell me what your plans are. ?"

Xiao Cong said:"I think the southwest border is far away and we need to mobilize our troops early. The march alone may take three to five months.

Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty said:"Then deploy more cavalry, shorten the journey, and attack early.""

Yue Guogong Yang Su said:"All the elite cavalry are defending the Turks in the north of the Great Wall. Besides,……"

Seeing that Yang Su was hesitant and hesitant in speaking, Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty asked:"What's the matter? Lord, please tell the truth.""

"Moreover, the elite cavalry in the north of Saibei are all controlled by Han Wang Yang Liang, who mobilizes troops from the vassal kings, which may lead to big troubles."

"oh……"Only then did Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty understand what Yang Su said. King Yang Liang of the Han Dynasty was guarding the northern part of the Great Wall. He had a horse infantry force of 100,000 people. If the Northern Army marched south and had to pass through the capital, it would be very dangerous for the vassal king to lead his troops into the capital. It would not be possible. There will be a rebellion.

Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty said to himself:"It seems that there is also a scabies disease in my backyard." Looking at the court hall, all the officials were involved in another discussion. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty said:"It seems that the cavalry from the north of the Great Wall can still be mobilized. There is really no need to rush, so let’s do this. The king of Hejian, Yang Hong and Fan Zigai, sent an order to mobilize troops from Huainan and Lingnan. Although there are not many cavalry, let them march slowly and not rush for quick success. After retreating from the court, Xiao Cong and Yang Su , Yu Wenshu, and Zhuge Ying went to the imperial study to discuss matters."

After receiving the order, everyone retreated and dispersed. Only Xiao Cong, Yang Su, Yu Wenshu, and Zhuge Ying came to the imperial study to discuss matters with Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty.

Four important ministers were sitting on both sides. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty said:"There is something I have to mention. If it had not been reminded by the Duke of Yue earlier in the morning, I would have almost underestimated the one hundred thousand cavalry of Han King Yang Liang. I am familiar with the history books, and the feudal lord It is never a good thing for the king to hold a heavy army. The king of Han's iron cavalry is always threatening the Sui Dynasty's backyard. You guys can talk about it, but it doesn't matter."

Yang Su, Duke of Yue, said:"Your Majesty clearly sees that the barbarians in the southwest are thousands of miles apart and there is no danger. , but Yang Liang, King of Han, separatized the northern vassal, and he was eyeing the vassal. He must cut down the vassal."

Xiao Cong, the Duke of Ju, had never thought this way. Xiao Cong was a loyal person, and he was more cautious when considering issues. He said:"Your Majesty, I think it is better to think twice about this matter. Okay."

Zhuge Ying also suggested:"Excuse me, your Majesty has recently ascended the throne and has already executed his brother Yang Yong. At this time, he must be sensitive to using the fifth brother to cut the vassal, and he is afraid that one stone will stir up a thousand waves."

Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty After listening to the opinions of Xiao Cong and Zhuge Ying, they felt that they were very reasonable and hesitated in their hearts. Only Yuwenshu had not yet spoken. Yuwenshu had followed Yang Guang for many years, always calculating Yang Guang's thoughts in advance, and then changing the direction according to the wind.

Yu Wenshu stared at Emperor Sui Yang for a long time, thinking to himself that Yang Guang would not even spare his own brother, so how could he take advantage of his own brother? After pondering for a while, he said:"Your Majesty, the ancients said that if the king of the vassal is cutting it, it will be reversed, and if it is not cut, it will be reversed. Sooner or later, it will be counterattacked. It is better to be ruthless early."

Emperor Sui Yang looked around at the four ministers present and made two suggestions. The two of them opposed the reduction of the vassal. They could not make up their minds for a moment, so they had to wave their hands:"You guys go back first and let me think about it carefully." The four ministers resigned, and Emperor Sui Yang returned to Ning'an Hall and leaned on the dragon couch. The last person was thinking about it. Queen Xiao Jun saw that Yang Guang was worried, so she sat on the edge of the couch and asked:"What's on your mind, your Majesty? You might as well tell me.""

"Cut off vassalage"

"Cutting off vassalage? Isn't the emperor planning to regain Jiaozhi? Why did he think of cutting off the vassal vassal again? It couldn't be against the King of Han, right?"

"It is the King of Han. The one hundred thousand cavalry under the King of Han are far more terrifying than that of Linyi."

Queen Xiao asked:"Isn't it Yang Su and Yu Wenshu's idea?"

"The queen's guess is good. Today I summoned four ministers to discuss it. After a long discussion, we had two versus two, two versus two, but we still couldn't make up our minds."

Empress Xiao was feeling guilty for the suicide of Princess Lanling Yang Awu. When she heard that Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty was going to attack the fifth brother Yang Liang again, she felt very uncomfortable and advised:"The late emperor once told me before his death that your Majesty did not have many brothers. , please advise me and my concubines, don’t cause fratricide due to palace fighting, be sure to treat them kindly……."

"Enough! Before he finished speaking, Emperor Sui Yang interrupted Empress Xiao and asked:"The late emperor also said before his death that he would re-establish the crown prince Yang Yong and depose me, right?" Empress Xiao did not show any weakness and continued to persuade:"The emperor passed away last month, and then executed the deposed prince Yang Yong and his heirs. Now Princess Lanling has hanged herself, and the emperor's close relatives have left one after another. Your Majesty cannot think of family ties. Aren't you going to cut down the feudal clan? Emperor

Yang of Sui Dynasty saw the Queen's threatening tone and was not angry. He stood up helplessly and said coldly:"I want to go for a walk. Queen, please rest first."……"

Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty stood up and left the Ning'an Hall. Looking at Yang Guang's still free and easy back, Xiao Jun couldn't help but a tear streaked across his face. At this time, Xiao Jingyan, the personal officer, came over and said,"Your Majesty, don't be too serious with the Emperor. I think the Emperor will tonight I must have gone to Mrs. Xuanhua's place."

After staying in Mrs. Xuanhua's Xiandu Palace for two days, Emperor Sui Yang didn't want to go back, but he had to discuss important matters with his ministers, so he had to bite the bullet and go back to the imperial study. Yang Su, the Duke of Yue State, had been waiting for a long time.

In response to the matter of reducing the vassal state, Yang Su, the Duke of Yue, said:"Now that your majesty is attacking Linyi, since you are sending troops to the southwest, it would be best if the King of Han in the north of the Great Wall can't fight without fighting. Instead, it is better to issue an imperial edict to persuade the King of Han to come to Beijing and then detain him. Then I will leave it to His Majesty's disposal"

"Well, what reason is the Duke planning to use to lure the King of Han back to the capital?"

"Your Majesty can say that he promoted the King of Han to serve as Minister Zuopushe, using the promotion of official position as bait."

"Okay, just follow the Duke's plan.

The two people were talking when the eunuch shouted:"The Queen is here.""

I saw Queen Xiao Jun walking into the imperial study, and Duke Yang Su of the State of Yue stood up to pay homage:"Your Majesty Yang Su pays homage to the Queen."

"The Duke of the country is exempt from the gift."

Queen Xiao came to the imperial study at this juncture, which made Emperor Sui Yang very uncomfortable, so he asked:"Why is the queen here? I have important matters to discuss with Duke Yue."

"I heard that the Duke of Yue was in the imperial study, so I made a special trip here."Queen Xiao turned around and asked Yang Su:"What wise words and advice the Duke of Yue has given to the emperor, you might as well tell the Ai family."

Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty said:"The Duke suggested that the King of Han Dynasty, Yang Liang, be asked to return to Beijing to serve."

"oh? Invite the King of Han to return to the capital?"Queen Xiao said:"The Duke of the State has played an important role in deposing the prince, banning the king of Shu, and arresting the prince's consort. Why did he come up with the idea of ​​His Highness the King of Han again? When Yang

Su saw the hidden meaning in Empress Xiao's words, she did not dare to pretend to be stupid and said bluntly:"I would like to inform you, since ancient times, vassal kings have often conspired to rebel. The King of Han has hundreds of thousands of troops, so we must be on guard against it." Xiao

Jun suppressed the anger in his heart and said to the two of them:"Princess Lanling was just buried today. She was buried in a lonely grave. If the King of Han returns to the capital, he will not end up like this.""

Hearing this, Yang Su did not dare to say anything anymore. He raised his eyes and looked at Emperor Sui Yang. Emperor Sui Yang felt a little regretful and willful. He held his breath and said:"Yang Awu refused to listen to good advice and threw himself into death. This No one else is to blame. Seeing that Emperor Sui Yang was still tough and ruthless

, Xiao Jun did not contradict the emperor, so he said to Yang Su:"Now the good brother who can be the emperor's right-hand man, but only Yang Liang, the king of Han, is left. The Duke of Yue called him back to the court." , On the contrary, it will scare the snake and make the brothers fight against each other. Empress Xiao continued to tit-for-tat with Yang Su, and Emperor Sui Yang hurriedly said:"The empress and the duke have always been of one mind and heart to help me ascend the throne. How come they have differences over the return of the Han Dynasty?""

Xiao Jun said:"Your Majesty only ascended the throne by weakening his brothers and clan. Now that he has conquered the world, he should be generous and benevolent. He should not weaken his clan's strength anymore. The King of Han is your only brother.

Yang Su said:"The rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms of the Western Han Dynasty and the rebellion of the Eight Kings of the Western Jin Dynasty were all rebellions of the vassal kings." Yang Liang, the king of Han, occupied Bingzhou and had strong soldiers and horses. There would be endless troubles, so it was best to recruit him back."

Queen Xiao and Yang Su, the Duke of Yue, were at loggerheads. One was the empress of the main palace, and the other was the chief minister of the dynasty. They each expressed their opinions, which put Emperor Sui Yang in a dilemma. Emperor Sui Yang had secretly accepted Yang Su's suggestion, so he comforted Xiao Jun. :"This time, Yang Liang, the king of Han Dynasty, is sent back to Han Dynasty to take up an important position. As the queen said, I am just a brother. After returning to the capital, I can ease my longing."

Looking at Queen Xiao's cold eyes, she still didn't believe it. Emperor Sui Yang advised again:"Queen, don't worry, I promise not to harm Han Wang Yang Liang."

Queen Xiao said:"I thanked Your Majesty on behalf of the King of Han."

Queen Xiao and her maid left the Imperial Study Room, watching their figures go away. Emperor Sui Yang said to Yang Su:"Mr. Yue, you must think of a perfect plan to trick the King of Han into the capital. It will be even more troublesome if the Queen interferes..

Yang Su said:"I have a plan, and I will be able to trick the King of Han." Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was overjoyed and asked:"

Ai Qing, tell me quickly.""