The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 967 Forcing Xiao Yu to Receive the Sword of Power

What happened in Ziyang City did not exist alone. Qin Chong’s act of killing the lawsuit and seizing the city seemed to be just a charge. Then, Shu County, Linqiong County, Ziyang County, and Longshan County belonged to the counties of the Li Tang Dynasty. A large number of refugees appeared, and even Shuangliu County, Jinyuan County, Qingcheng County, and Wanchun County, which are adjacent to Chengdu, could not avoid it. It feels as if all the people have become refugees overnight.

Although the refugees in the counties still maintained a certain degree of restraint and did not rebel like Qin Chong, if the Li and Tang dynasties did not solve the food problem, it would only be a matter of time before the refugee riots in various places.

"It shouldn't be like this!" Li Shimin rubbed his aching temple in the Jiade Hall of the East Palace, and said distressedly: "Even if there are refugees, they should appear from a farther place. Ziyang is the center of my Tang Dynasty, and the southeast Both sides have heavy troops, so why did they make a fuss first?"

"Your Highness, the banditry problem in Ziyang City is that food prices remain high and rising step by step. People can't buy food, so they will naturally complain, and other counties may also have it; but these four counties are full of refugees, and other places are not much better. .Maybe it’s because of the blockage of the roads that the news cannot reach Chengdu.” Xiao Yu, who was exhausted by food prices during this period, was covered in white hair, as if he was ten years older. He sighed, bowed and said: “ Your Highness, we used to have internal and external troubles, but now public grievances have begun to erupt. You must know that many of the refugees are family members of our soldiers. If we don’t try to stabilize food prices, I’m afraid we might as well give way to Tang Dynasty compared with the end of the great cause. One step, without the Sui army to fight, my Tang army will collapse by itself."

"What...what do you all think?" Li Shimin couldn't help hesitating. Stabilizing food prices also means that he will sell official and military rations at a low price. If there is no food on hand, the army will also collapse.

The point is that even if he is willing to sell official and military rations at a low price, it will be difficult to stabilize the price of food if the North Korean and Chinese soldiers who have already hoarded a lot of food do not cooperate, or buy low and sell high to make a big difference.

Up to now, in fact, all the important officials of the Tang Dynasty here know that the rising food price has a great relationship with the Sui Dynasty’s massive purchase of Shu brocade and precious wood. Going into the mountains to look for wood has left the fertile Chengdu Plain barren and the output is not high, and when the output is not high, they quietly buy the surplus food of the people. It was sold at a high price. As the Sui Dynasty suddenly cut off business contacts, the people in Shuzhong who lost the Sui Dynasty's grain suddenly fell into a dilemma where they had money but could not buy grain.They will not reflect on their original profit-seeking behavior, they will only think that the court is not good, and when people with good intentions point the finger at the court, the refugee riots happened as a matter of course.

This is the overall situation that the Sui Dynasty has laid out in the middle of Shu for a long time. The purpose is to let the people who obtained the fields from the Li Tang Dynasty change from their gratitude and gratitude to the Li Tang Dynasty to disappointment and despair.After the Sui Dynasty conquered the Tang Dynasty, and then transported grain to the middle of Sichuan, and stabilized the frighteningly high grain price, then the people's hearts would naturally belong to the Sui Dynasty, and the common people would always be the most realistic group, and they were forgetful. Instinct, when the whole family is full, who will remember Li Tang's 'good deed' of sharing the land equally?
The Sui Dynasty’s strategy of drawing salary from the bottom of the pot is an extremely shameless and vicious conspiracy. Everyone has seen it through, but even if they see it through, there is nothing they can do. The Li and Tang Dynasty, who also did not have much food, naturally had no choice but to face this sudden chaos. to solve.

In the final analysis, Yang Tong took advantage of the poverty of the Tang Dynasty to take advantage of the situation and bully others, while all efforts of the Li Tang Dynasty seemed so powerless in the face of poverty and backwardness.

In fact, the Tang Dynasty was the first to support the Long nobles, the Shandong gentry, the southern gentry, and the tyrants of the prefectures, and then occupied the Guanzhong Plain, Chengdu Plain, and the northern part of the Hanjiang Plain. These important grain-producing areas are like the Qin State in the Warring States Period. In a country with a bright future, if the officers and soldiers work hard, the monarchs and ministers are of the same heart, civil and military comrades, and clansmen share the same virtue, then it is really unknown who will win the deer.

It's a pity that Li Yuan played power tricks when the world was not yet unified. In order to stabilize his throne, he ignored national interests and played factional disputes, destroying the bright future of the Tang Dynasty in internal strife. Of course, as a generation of emperors, Li Yuan It is beyond reproach, but he did it a few years earlier. He should destroy the powerful enemy of the Sui Dynasty first, and then it is not too late to play with the emperor's art. It's insignificant, but Li Yuan saw that Li Jiancheng was too old and felt that he threatened his throne, so he was eager to support Li Shimin and provoke conflicts between the crown prince and King Jin.

The princes of all walks of life in the world are now in the Sui Dynasty, and only the remaining Tang Dynasty is in the predicament of lingering and precarious. Looking around, as long as it is a foreign country with a small scale, it has been trampled by Yang Yu for several times. All over the world, in fear of the Sui Dynasty like a tiger, today's Tang Dynasty can be said to be helpless.

Unless the destiny is in the Tang Dynasty, a large meteorite rain will fall on each Sui army, killing all the soldiers of the ten major legions of the Sui Dynasty.Otherwise, the Tang Dynasty will go and never return.

"Your Highness, the high food price cannot be leveled in a day. You can take it slowly, but there is one thing that must be solved urgently." Chen Shuda, who had been silent all this time, sighed deeply, cupped his hands and said: "In the opinion of the old minister, , the first priority is to put down the rebellion of the refugees in Ziyang City."

"Chen Xiangguo's words are very true." Yin Kaishan bowed to Li Shimin, and said: "Your Highness, the priorities should be prioritized, and everything should be put down the rebellion."

"Suppressing the rebellion?" Li Shimin rubbed his aching forehead fiercely, because for him who lacks an army, countering the rebellion is also a big problem that needs to be solved. After thinking for a while, he said to Yin Kaishan: " Yin Xiangguo."

"My minister is here!" Yin Kaishan quickly stood up and saluted.

"I will give you four thousand elites to support Han Liang. No matter what method you use, I will return to Ziyang City." Li Shimin pondered for a while, and then said: "After completing this task, you will not only be responsible for supporting Hou Junji, Zhang Shigui's heavy responsibility is also to coordinate the decisive battles in the Yang'an and Pingquan areas."

When Yin Kaishan heard this, he felt his shoulders sinking, and replied in a deep voice: "This minister will definitely live up to His Highness' trust!"

"Yes." Li Shimin nodded, and then said to Dou Lun and Li Daobi: "Dou Lun, Li Daobi, you two will each lead [-] Tubo cavalry to evacuate refugees from various counties in Shu County. I will suppress it by force, and my only requirement is the word 'as soon as possible', and after that, gather the counties and counties into Chengdu City."

"The last general takes orders!" Dou Lun and Li Daobi agreed and took orders to retire.

"As for the stabilization of food prices..." Li Shimin thought for a while, and said to the courtiers present: "The north of Ziyang and the south of Shu County are the battlefields of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and we have a large number of troops there. Our army has been facing each other for a long time on the frontal battlefield, and we have dispatched cavalry to raid our army's grain roads. Therefore, it is best to keep the grain in various official warehouses, so as to support the army at any time. And in the days to come, I will devote myself to military battles In the middle, I have no time to take care of government affairs, so I have to stabilize food prices and other government affairs. From now on, I will trouble Chen Xiangguo, Xiao Xiangguo, Yuwen Xiangguo, and Tang Shangshu.

As soon as Li Shimin said this, Chen Shuda, Xiao Yu, Yu Wenshiji, and Tang Jian suddenly looked at each other in blank dismay, one or two of their faces were completely black, after such a long time of trouble, our feelings are to make us become food like mountains and seas , and then go to solve the problem of food prices, but the court is indifferent, not even a grain of rice?

"Your Highness." Chen Shuda frowned: "It is a fact that the court lacks food. In order to deal with the powerful Sui Dynasty, it is necessary to maintain a large number of troops. This is also a fact of last resort. We can understand these facts. But on the issue of resettlement of the people Well, if the imperial court does not produce a single grain of rice, it is really unreasonable. And to be honest, if the ministers do not have food in hand, even if they intend to stabilize the price of grain, they will be powerless."

Although it is said that the seven phases of the Tang Dynasty's political affairs hall are juxtaposed, Chen Shuda is a veteran of Yuan Cong and a well-deserved prime minister. He is responsible for most of the government affairs of the court, and he is under great pressure.

"Your Highness!" As soon as Chen Shuda finished speaking, he saw Sun Fujia, who had been promoted to be a royal doctor, rushing in. Everyone looked at him and saw that he was flustered and his forehead was dripping with sweat. Indifference is quite different.

"Sun Yushi, why are you so flustered?" Li Shimin felt it in his heart, but his face pretended to be indifferent.

"Your Highness, I was ordered to inspect the northern part of Shu County, and found a large number of refugees coming from the Sui territory." Sun Fujia said loudly.

"How did this refugee appear? And didn't the Sui army blockade all the passages? How could there be refugees going south at this time?" Li Shimin was very puzzled and asked again and again.

Sun Fujia explained: "The terrain in the north of Shu County is dangerous and the mountains are vertical and horizontal. It is not a good land for grain production. The people there were also bewitched by Sui Dynasty merchants before. Seeing that the land output is not high and the grain price is low, They simply gave up the fields and went directly to the mountains to find precious wood. Nowadays, the common people have money and no food. When the grain trade was cut off in the Sui Dynasty, it was normal for there to be a wave of refugees. According to some refugees, they heard that His Highness has the power to help the world and the people. The talent is that the people in Yizhou reborn their parents, opened warehouses in Chengdu to release food, and let the people take it for themselves, so all of them came. However, the Sui army attacked Yishu from afar, and they did not have much military food. In the situation of being unable to help the people Come on, simply let go of the passage and let the people go south to eat."

As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar in the hall.

"Your Highness, these refugees from the north were obviously bewitched by the Sui Dynasty and came to trouble us. The so-called 'helping the world and reassuring the people' and 'reborn parents' are actually Yang Tong's compliments to His Highness and our Tang Dynasty."

Chen Shuda discovered the crux of the problem at once. These refugees who came to Shu County were full of hope for the Tang Dynasty, so they came from afar, but if they helped these victims, it would consume the small amount of food in the Tang Dynasty. The imperial court's reluctance to help is not only a huge blow to Li Shimin, who has the reputation of "helping the world and calming the people" and "reborn parents". If not, these refugees who have lost their hopes will definitely riot in Shu County.

"Damn Yang Tong." Li Shimin cursed viciously. After Chen Shuda's point, he immediately realized that the reputation of "helping the world and calming the people" and "reborn parents" is actually a poisonous dagger stabbing Datang's heart.

"Helping the world and reassuring the people" and "Reborn Parents" are just false names, Li Shimin may not care about them at all, but the crux of the problem is those refugees who come with their families and their families. He knew that his primary enemy now was not the hundreds of thousands of Sui troops encircled, but more internally. Datang had already lost popular support in Shu County and other places, and made people everywhere become refugees. At the limit of what can be tolerated, if these northern refugees make trouble in Shu County, the local people will definitely respond one after another, which will set off a huge storm against the Tang Dynasty, making it impossible for the Tang Dynasty to gain a foothold.

Thinking of this, Li Shimin said anxiously: "Yang Tong is insidious and cunning. He does everything one after the other. He deliberately put "helping the world and the people" on my head, clearly using the refugees to cause trouble. These people Once there is trouble, it means that the internal refugees will follow suit, what can you do to deal with it?"

"Your Highness." Xiao Yu heard Li Shimin's unfinished intentions, clearly he was unwilling to use official rations to relieve the disaster, when he remembered that Li Shimin did not listen to his advice and did not want to sell official rations at a low price to quell public grievances, which led to refugees everywhere. Qi Shi said indignantly: "In fact, it is not difficult to deal with the refugees. The key is to appease them. As long as the court provides them with porridge and arranges them a place to live, they will not cause trouble. If we do this well from the beginning, There would be no wave of refugees at all, let alone the Ziyang city incident... Now that the Ziyang incident and the refugee incident have become an uproar, it is time for His Highness to come forward to help. Let the common people feel the benevolence of His Highness."

Hearing Xiao Yu's words, Li Shimin's face turned red all of a sudden, and his eyes were full of Taotian anger. If eyes could kill, Xiao Yu might have been torn to pieces by Li Shimin.

Xiao Yu asked himself to use official food and military food to stabilize food prices and help the refugees. The reason is correct, and it is also an old-fashioned way of governing the country. But at this moment, the Sui army has already reached Shu County, and it will not be long before the troops will come to the city. Suggesting to release food at the time is exactly the same thing as suggesting that you abolish your martial arts and reduce your army.What is the difference between saying this kind of thing and suggesting that you knelt down and surrendered to Yang Tong before you bound yourself up?

Xiao Yu would not be ignorant of this truth.This old guy clearly saw that the Tang Dynasty was about to fall, and he wished he could hand over Li Tang Jiangshan; after all, Xiao Yu was Yang Tong's uncle, and if he could let Yang Tong end the life of the Tang Dynasty without bloodshed, Xiao Yu would be considered an immediate successor. He has done a great job, and because of the empress Xiao Xiao, even if he can't be a high-ranking official in the Sui Dynasty in the future, the whole family will still be able to live a prosperous life of a master in peace and without damage.

But Li Shimin is angry and angry, but he also knows that more than [-]% of Tang officials have this kind of thinking. Going to the Sui Dynasty in exchange for high-ranking officials and generous salaries, once I moved Xiao Yu, I am afraid that these people will make trouble, so even if I get angry again, I have to swallow my anger and endure it.

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressed the anger that was almost gushing out, and pretended to be surprised: "If Xiao Xiangguo didn't say anything, I almost forgot that Xiao Xiangguo has the most abundant experience in resettling victims. That being the case, Then I will issue a decree entrusting Xiao Xiangguo with full power to stabilize food prices and relieve the victims. As for Chen Xiangguo and Yuwen Xiangguo, they will advise me specifically, and Tang Shangshu will also serve as Jing Zhaoyin, responsible for arresting criminals in the city and cracking down on them. Sui Dynasty detailed work and so on."

"The matter is settled like this." Before the stunned Xiao Yu could refute, Li Shimin had already stood up and said, "I'm going to the imperial city to train soldiers, everyone, go back to the official office. The state affairs are difficult now, and we I hope you all make the most of every moment.”

"Your Highness!" Xiao Yu called out to Li Shimin's back.

"What else is there for Xiao Xiangguo?" Li Shimin stopped and turned around, looking at Xiao Yu displeased.

"I have no food in my hand, I can't stabilize the price of food, and I can't help the victims." Xiao Yu gritted his teeth and said loudly: "But I know that there are people who are maliciously hoarding food in the face of national crisis. If Your Highness can borrow a thousand elite soldiers, Weichen I will give His Highness a satisfactory answer."

"Xiao Xiangguo, are you sure there is such a person?" Li Shimin's eyes lit up. After all, the Chengdu Plain is a rich grain-producing area. So inaction, the reason why there is no food, is actually a ulterior motive, and he doesn't want to serve Datang anymore. Now that Xiao Yu is so forced by himself, is there a solution?
"Indeed!" Xiao Yu nodded heavily, and said decisively: "But I hope that His Highness, in addition to a thousand elite soldiers, will also give the humble officials the power of life and death."

"Sure!" Li Shimin agreed without hesitation. If Xiao Yu can satisfactorily solve the food crisis in front of him, he can turn Yang Tong's plot of extortion into profit and win the hearts of refugees from all over the world. , for your own use in the next decisive battle.As for how many unscrupulous merchants, unscrupulous aristocrats, and unscrupulous civil and military forces that Xiao Yu killed maliciously hoarding food, Li Shimin didn't care at all at this time.

He took off his saber and handed it to Xiao Yu: "I will give Xiao Xiangguo a thousand red armored troops, and give him the right to kill first and then play."

"Thank you, Your Highness, for your trust!" Xiao Yu bowed and took the sword of power.

(End of this chapter)