The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 622 I Decided to Rebel Against Tang

Yu Yun put on a little disguise, boarded an unremarkable bullock cart, and drove low-key in the shady scene of Xiangyang, looking at the sparse pedestrians outside the car, Yu Yun sighed lightly.

Tomorrow is the Shangyuan Festival. This is a festival that existed as early as the Qin Dynasty. It was valued by Emperor Hanwen. Some say that Emperor Hanwen set it up to commemorate "Ping Lu", and some people say that Shangyuan Festival is the ancestor of Taoism. Ear's birthday.But the Tang Dynasty clearly believed in the latter.

Just because Li Yuan, in order to improve the legitimacy and reputation of the Li family, relied on the people's awe of Li Er and regarded himself as a descendant of Li Er, so that the people respected him and let him ascend to the throne of the emperor.As a "filial son and virtuous grandson", he should spare no effort to celebrate the birthday of the "old ancestor". Therefore, the first government decree issued by Li Yuan every year is to cancel the curfew on the Lantern Festival, so that the people can have fun all night long. In the imperial capital, the curfew was lifted for three days.After Li Yuan's promotion, Shangyuan Festival has become a more lively festival than New Year's Eve, especially the imperial capital has become a city that never sleeps with lanterns, and the crowds linger overnight.

In the past, Xiangyang should be lively tonight, but on the street, except for the official lanterns hanging on the trees, there are almost no people watching the lanterns. Feelings of anxiety.

Yu Yun knew that this was the result of Wu Chuan's death harming the imperial capital; although the ready-to-move Sui army also had something to do with it, the influence of the Sui army on the imperial capital was actually not that great, because the people had already learned to enjoy themselves in hardship after suffering from wars. During festivals, they will take advantage of the festive atmosphere to relax their tense heartstrings and enjoy the false prosperity that is like a flash in the pan.

Today's Xiangyang is surrounded by Wuchuan pawns, and the grass and trees are full of soldiers. A majestic imperial court, from the third-rank high-ranking officials, has to disguise themselves when they go out at night. How can the common people dare to come out?
Thinking of this, Yu Yun sighed.

After driving for about an hour, the ox cart stopped, and the guard disguised as the driver got out of the cart, and said respectfully and softly, "Patriarch, the Xiaoxiang Pavilion is here."

"understood!"

Yu Yun got out of the car, and what appeared in front of him was an elegant attic. To be precise, it was several attics connected by long corridors. The flower trees in the Xiaoxiang Pavilion were covered with lanterns, and plum blossoms were in full bloom on the roadside. The petals are scattered on the winding path, and the steps are full of plum snow and cold fragrance.

"Anyone who can afford to open such a Qinlou Chu Pavilion must be a person of considerable background." Yu Yun was amazed, and with his eyesight, he could naturally see that the plants planted here were all rare and precious tree species, even the gauze curtains on the door and window corridors , The servants and maids who stood by were not worthy of ordinary rich and noble families. He took a few glances and stepped into the deep courtyard.

A maid with a handsome appearance stepped forward, executed it lightly, and asked in a crisp voice: "Will the envoy listen to the music or seek someone?"

"I have an appointment with Mr. Wen Huai. Where is he?" Wen Huai is naturally Dugu Huai'en's pseudonym. Even though he was so courageous, he didn't dare to invite someone here by his real name, otherwise he would be drowned in saliva.

"Please envoy the king and your slaves." The maid led the way ahead.

Yu Yun followed slowly.

Along the way, he met several beautiful-looking women. They were thinly powdered, fresh and moving, giving people a calm and dignified feeling. They didn't have the sultry atmosphere of ordinary brothel women, but they looked like well-educated ladies.

Yu Yun had already heard about the name of Xiaoxiang Pavilion. In the past, he didn't quite believe it. He always thought that the brothel was a place for buying and selling flesh and blood. Where could he be so noble?But after seeing it with his own eyes, he really believed it.With so many beautiful and dignified women who can be praised by all the dignitaries in the city, the owner of this pavilion must have an extraordinary background. If it is not for his outstanding skills and great backing, how can he keep the Xiaoxiang Pavilion, which is making money every day?
He heard that the owner of the Xiaoxiang Hall was a woman. Because Wang Shichong and Li Mi had been fighting endlessly, she avoided disaster in Xiangyang. She seemed to have something to do with the late Yang Su and Yang Xuangan's father and son. Stand firm.Xiaoxiang Pavilion is famous for elegant things such as piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. It never deals in skin and meat business. They are all proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry and songs, and all the girls in Xiaoxiang Pavilion are the "four gentlemen" of piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. Many rich men are proud to see them and use them as capital for self-promotion .Therefore, even though the Xiaoxiang Pavilion was expensive, it was still sought after by dignitaries.

However, the Xiaoxiang Pavilion is closed for two days every seven days, and the operating time will not exceed [-] hour a day. This weird behavior greatly violates the way of doing business, but there are many people who are eager to spend a lot of money.

Yu Yun followed the maid through several winding corridors, and came to a courtyard planted with many plum trees. The maid stopped in front of a warm pavilion and said, "Master Wen Huai is inside, please."

Yu Yun took off his shoes, pushed the door open and entered, Rao Yu Yun, as a family member of the Yu family, was well-informed, but when he got inside, he couldn't stop talking.

The ground is covered with a thick layer of blankets, and the pattern seems to be something from the Western Regions. The carved window lattices and rosewood tables and chairs set off the harmonious tone of this small building. A warm atmosphere.

Suddenly there was a burst of hearty laughter from behind the curtain, and it was Dugu Huai'en.

Yu Yun walked around the curtain and sat down in front of Dugu Huai'en, "The place you are looking for made me travel half of Xiangyang City."

Hearing the familiar voice, the middle-aged man who was lying on the reclining couch watching the dance music sat upright, and said with a wild smile: "You really want to thank me, if I hadn't invited you here, do you think you would dare to come here? ?”

"Don't dare!" Yu Yun smiled wryly when he heard the words. The women of the Dugu family are almost the same. Husband's status, they can share weal and woe with their husbands, live and die together, even dare to kill people with a knife on the battlefield, but at home, they will become gentle wives next to their pillows, and good housekeepers. My daughter is very strict with her husband when it comes to women's sex. Once this bottom line is touched, all of them will become tigresses.Yang Jian is a majestic nine-five-year-old, but he just made a mistake that all men would make. He stole a fish once, but he was pissed off by Empress Dugu, and Yang Jian was so angry that he ran away from home. Became a monk.But after Queen Dugu passed away, Yang Jian cried from time to time, thinking of Queen Dugu before he died.

This may be a matter of blood, or it may be a reflection of the different family traditions and education of Junwu Guanlong and Shishu Guandong.

Yu Yun casually poured himself a glass of wine, sniffed the aroma of the wine, drank it all in one gulp, and said, "Why did you ask me here?"

Dugu Huai'en waved his hand to make the dancers back down, and said in a low voice, "I came to you because I hope you will rebel against me."

Dugu Wynn spoke very straightforwardly and got to the point right away.

Yu Yun took a sip of wine, hurriedly wiped off the wine stains on his clothes, then stared at Dugu Huai'en, and said angrily: "You deliberately made me look bad, didn't you?"

"I decided to turn against Tang. I really didn't lie to you." Dugu Wynn emphasized.

Yu Yun stared at him for a long time, seeing that he didn't seem to be pretending, said in a deep voice, "Is it your personal intention?"

"Can I do it alone?" Although Dugu Wynn didn't answer, he actually indicated that this was Dugu's meaning.

"Give me a reason, no, give me an explanation."

"With the expansion of the army, the emperor lacks everything. He needs money and food to support the army, land to reward military achievements, and population to expand the army. Where does the emperor need? It is in the hands of our Guanlong nobles. Just kill us all, He will get countless money, food and land to supplement the army, expand the source of troops, and support soldiers with high salaries... The emperor is a person who will not be satisfied. He has tasted the sweetness of exterminating Buddhism and worshiping Taoism. The time to attack us is not far away. Even if we We don't want to be his enemy, and he won't let us go easily, we can't just sit and wait for death."

Yu Yun could see his sincerity in Dugu Huai'en's words from the bottom of his heart at a glance. This was indeed not a single lie, but he did not rush to express his position, but asked, "Do you think it is possible?"

"Of course it's possible." Dugu Huai'en snorted coldly: "This man is good at disguising, and always pretends to be kind, but in fact he is sinister, vicious, and ungrateful. In order to stabilize his throne, even his son used it, In order to control the influence of his sons on the military power and reflect his unique position in the army, he deployed a map and asked the generals in front to follow every step. Sun Wu, the sage of soldiers, mentioned "soldiers" more than a thousand years ago "Impermanence, potential, water, impermanence", pointing out that the battlefield is changing rapidly, and corresponding countermeasures must be taken according to the changes in the enemy's situation. He is also a person who has achieved the position of staying in Taiyuan step by step with his military exploits. He is a man who knows how to fight, why not change? The root cause is that he is worried that he will lose control of the army, and military power is his backing, whoever moves will die, even his sons are no exception."

"Every time we were defeated, he came to exploit us. We had no choice before, so we let him cut his flesh and blood. If he saw a glimmer of hope, that's fine. The key is that there is no hope at all. For the future of the family, everyone sent people to Luoyang What's wrong? But this made him suspicious again, killing all of us, he can sleep peacefully, have money and food, and can send out an army to die."

From Dugu Huai'en's words, Yu Yun understood that the root of the problem was that 'the move of the aristocratic family to send people to Luoyang angered the emperor'. As for other reasons, they were just laying the groundwork for this core point.

His brother-in-law seems to be resolute and upright, but in reality he is unpredictable and cunning like a fox.This point can be seen from the deliberate blurring and downplaying of the role played by the Dugu family. It would be fine if he rebelled in the name of the family.

Yu Yun knew that Dugu Huai'en must have more plans, but he didn't know what his specific plan was, he didn't want to be involved, and he didn't want to be used by Dugu Huai'en as a weapon, so he said: "Are you serious? If you are not careful, you are not the only one who gets caught up, but the entire Dugu clan."

"I may not die if I take risks, but if I don't take risks, I will definitely die." Dugu Huai'en took a serious look at Yu Yun, raised the jug and filled him again, and continued: "The road the emperor is going to take now It’s exactly the same as Yang Tong’s, it’s to hit the local tyrants to divide the land, so that the people can have land and land without panic, once we really start to make a move, the first ones to fall will be those of us who went to the posthouse to visit Fang Xuanling’s family.”

Yu Yun pondered for a while, and then asked again: "Is it not just me you are looking for? Anyone else, can you tell me?"

"I almost have a lot of Patriarchs of the Dugu Sect, and I have found them all."

"How effective is it?"

"They have gained very little, and they still have hope for this dying dynasty."

Yu Yun smiled lightly: "This shows that you can't do it? I advise you not to intervene in the disputes between the Sui and Tang Dynasties, otherwise you will die. Those who know current affairs are heroes."

Dugu Huai'en smirked, shook his head and said, "Junjie? I only saw a group of lingering lambs waiting to be slaughtered. Brother-in-law wouldn't be the same person, would he?"

"I have nothing to do with the Sui and Tang dynasties, I dare not risk the lives of the whole family!"

"Why did the brother-in-law mobilize people in Fangling Manor?" Dugu Huai'en said seemingly inadvertently.

Yu Yun said: "In order to leave a retreat for myself, lest Xiangyang City be destroyed and my family be lost in the chaos of war."

Dugu Huai'en said without even raising his eyelids: "Do you need more than 2000 soldiers, more than 300 sets of heavy armor and more than 200 crossbows for self-protection?"

Yu Yun was like a frightened leopard, with evil spirit pervading quietly, two sharp eyes focused on Dugu Huai'en, and asked in a deep voice: "I recently bought that manor, and no one in the family knows about it, how did you know?" of?"

"How I know is not important, what is important is the emperor, what should he do if he knows?"

"Are you threatening me?" The veins on Yu Yun's forehead jumped violently.

"Brother-in-law, don't be nervous. There are many people who do the same thing as you. You are still cautious. Some people have brought private troops to Xiangyang City. This is actually no secret. If brother-in-law wants to, just use Beijing Zhao Yin's contacts can be found out by one search. I know that everyone is preparing a retreat for themselves, but it's still the same sentence..." Dugu Huai'en smiled and said sincerely: "We understand, but the emperor Don't think so, especially at this time, he will never allow an army that is not under his control to exist in the city. If these people are smarter, they should disband as soon as possible, otherwise, they will be cleaned like a storm. Wu Chuan The strength of the company is not limited to these thugs who do evil on the surface."

Yu Yun frowned, "How do you know so much?"

"My father died at the hands of the emperor, why do you think I didn't know?" Dugu Huai'en's eyes were like a falcon, bursting out with deep hatred.

"Ah?" Yu Yun was stunned. After a while, he restrained the shock in his heart and asked anxiously, "Do you have evidence?"

"I won't hide it from you..." Dugu Huai'en took a deep breath and said, "I was ordered by my father to contact Sui Jun in person. Three days ago, they told me that Wu Chuansi was just one of Li Yuan's Under the pretense, the real deadly poisonous dagger is an assassin organization controlled by Li Yuan himself. Its name is "One Eye", and they assassinated his father. Afterwards, Li Yuan issued an order to kill his father. Of the three people who shot, only one was killed by the Sui army. Carefully rescue him."

"Could it be that the Sui army provoked dissension?"

"When my father was alive, he told my family and me that Li Yuan had such an assassin organization, and the loyal officials of the Sui Dynasty who stayed in Taiyuan were assassinated one by one by Li Yuan. In fact, my father's closing statement is full of doubts, as long as you have the heart Knowing that someone deliberately blamed Li Mi, and the various public opinions that agreed with the Ministry of Criminal Justice were also guided by people behind their backs. As for those who expressed doubts, they all shut up under the torture and beating of Wu Chuan. The method is to maintain and rectify public opinion, but in fact, you don't want others to continue to investigate and continue to doubt. You also know that Wu Chuansi is Li Yuan's loyal dog, and he will not do this without the master's order. Believe it or not is up to you." Angry Dugu Huai'en no longer had any respect for Li Yuan and called him by his first name.

Dugu Huai'en's words seemed to be the key to unlock all Yu Yun's doubts, and all doubts were easily solved.

No wonder the Ministry of Criminal Justice closed the case in a hurry, no wonder the emperor accepted the absurd conclusion, it turned out that the emperor was the real murderer, and the reason why he agreed to bury Dugu with the ceremony of Duke Zheng was nothing more than to make up for the little uneasiness in his conscience.

(End of this chapter)