The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 972 Niutao County, Zhou Qing offered advice
Not long after the group left Ziyang City, Yang Guang's donkey began to lose his temper, making it move forward but retreating. Yang Guang held the rein firmly so that it could not move, but it also became angry and refused to leave.Yang Guang had no choice but to turn over and get off the donkey, dragging it away with great effort. Yang Yichen, Xue Li, Zhou Qing and others wanted to change it with Yang Guang, but Yang Guang refused to agree and got on with the donkey. He thought the process of taming was very interesting.

"Old Yang! You helped Han Liang pacify Ziyang City with just a few words. It's really amazing." Xue Li, who was leading the donkey, looked at Yang Guang who was fighting with the stubborn donkey with admiration, and said: "This In terms of ability, I'm afraid he might as well give way to Emperor Shengwu of the Sui Dynasty."

Yang Tong is not very old. Although he is the grandson of Emperor Daye, he is the second son of a concubine. He is in the embarrassing position that he is not as noble as Yang You, and his order is not as good as Yang Tan. The post of staying behind is also lost.But he went from Luoyang to Jizhou and Youzhou, and then from Youzhou to Liaodong and grasslands, and then from the outside to the inside, step by step, he killed the rivers and mountains of today's Sui Dynasty, and from time to time he went to clean up the surrounding alien races, and wiped out every now and then. To play in this country, his fighting career in the past few years can be called a miracle.

Martial arts were very popular in the Sui Dynasty. Almost all young people took Yang Tong as a role model and the motivation for their struggle in life. Because of him, there were many people who abandoned literature and martial arts and joined the army.

Xue Li is no exception, he admires Yang Tong very much.But now seeing Yang Guang talking and laughing, making a powerful enemy disappear, this calm and confident demeanor made Xue Li an idol again.

"Yang Renjin? What kind of ability is he?" Yang Guang smiled when he heard Xue Li comparing himself with Yang Tong, and smiled with a comfortable beard in his heart: "When you meet me, you have to call grandpa. I let him stand. Never dare to kneel."

"..." The corners of Yang Yichen's mouth twitched, not to mention that Yang Tong was going to call you 'grandfather', 'grandfather', even if you asked him to kneel down, he still had to listen to you!But what does this have to do with ability and skill?

"Really?" Xue Li and Zhou Qing felt that Yang Guang was bragging. Although Yang Guang gave them the impression that they were very powerful, compared with Yang Tong, who had countless brilliance and glory, he was really not worthy of the stage.

"The pacification you said is actually only temporary." Yang Guang also knew that Xue Li and Zhou Qing didn't believe it, so he brought the topic back to the previous point.

"Why is it temporary?" Xue Li felt that the Ziyang City incident ended perfectly.The people who couldn't survive were grateful to Han Liang, and Han Liang took back Ziyang City without killing, which was the best of both worlds. He didn't understand why Yang Guang said it was 'temporary'.

"The fundamental problem is not with Han Liang and the common people, but with the city of Chengdu." Yang Guang asked, "Nowadays, the hearts of the people in central Sichuan are fluctuating, and the common people have become refugees one after another. What do you think is the key to appease the hearts of the people?"

"food."

"Of course it's food."

Xue Li and Zhou Qing answered without thinking.

"Then do you think Li Shimin and the dignitaries, nobles, and profiteers in Chengdu will sell the grain at a low price?" Yang Guang asked again.

"Li Shimin should be able to. After all, the people are in chaos, which is of no benefit to the Tang Dynasty;" Xue Li said with some uncertainty: "As for the others, it's hard to say."

"You're right! Li Shimin dreamed of stabilizing food prices and helping the victims, and would appreciate Han Liang's way of solving Ziyang City, but the food is concentrated in the hands of the powerful, honorable, and profiteers, so even if Li Shimin agrees to Han Liang, The relief food would not reach Ziyang City in time, which directly caused Han Liang's promise to the people to fail to be fulfilled. As a result, the people of Ziyang City were disappointed, and the Tang Dynasty lost its credibility among the people."

Yang Guang sighed: "Although reputation is invisible and intangible, it does exist, and it has the characteristics of being difficult to establish and easy to lose. Even if Li Shimin finally reaches an agreement with the dignitaries, nobles, and profiteers, it will still take a while." It will take a long time; and during this long period of time, the mentality of the Ziyang people who are waiting to be fed will undergo a fundamental change, from the current expectation of the government to disappointment and despair. If Ziyang City falls again, Han Liang, who has lost his trust in the people It can’t be solved as easily as it is now.”

At the end, Yang Guang became a little depressed.At the beginning of Yanmen, he personally promised that the officers and men of the three armies and those who have made meritorious deeds in defending the city would be directly conferred with a sixth-rank official position and rewarded with a hundred pieces of silk. Rewards for real things, in the end, they lost faith in the army and the kings and generals, which led to the already bad Sui Guoji becoming even worse.

"Isn't it possible? Tang's courtiers are not fools, so why don't they know such a simple truth?" Xue Li couldn't believe it.

"It is because there are too many smart people that Li Yuan made the good situation like this." Yang Guang laughed and said, "At present, the key is Li Shimin. If he is willing to stabilize food prices and provide relief to the victims, other people can only follow the court. It is a pity that Li Shimin is not as sophisticated as Li Yuan in terms of governance. Therefore, the policy of giving priority to the military has been implemented, so they are unwilling to use official rations and military rations to help the victims; this is of course a last resort, but in this way, there will be an unfavorable situation of mutual evasion and mutual blame, and eventually it will completely lose the hearts of the people. The important thing is that other rebels who were forced to rebel, seeing the Tang Dynasty's dishonest people in Ziyang, also lost trust in the Tang Dynasty, even if someone uses this trick to recruit rioters in other places in the future, it will have little effect."

"The power of reputation is too terrifying, isn't it?" Xue Li looked at Yang Guang in a daze.

"That's right, once you lose your trust, you won't be able to recover without a few or ten years of painstaking efforts, and the Sui Dynasty obviously won't give the Tang Dynasty a few years." Yang Guang said firmly: "Today At this step, the Tang Dynasty, which has been betrayed by all relatives, is completely hopeless."

If not, how could he, Yang Guang, be kind enough to help Han Liang?Although it seems that Han Liang and the Tang Dynasty have benefited at the moment, it is actually at the expense of the reputation of Li Yuan and his son. If it is later, Han Liang may be punished, but Yin Kaishan can still take back Ziyang City by force. Guang's operation also made this ordinary refugee rebellion sublimate to the issue of trust between the Tang Dynasty and the whole people. Based on Yang Guang's understanding of the Tang Dynasty's current strength, even if Li Shimin wanted to remedy it, it was a "coincidence". It is hard for a woman to cook without rice." This time, the Tang Dynasty was really helpless.After the fall, no common people will miss the Tang Dynasty, and after the Sui Dynasty, as long as they do a little bit better than the current Tang Dynasty, the people in the middle of Shu will be attached to them.

Hearing Yang Guang firmly say that the Tang Dynasty was hopeless, Xue Li, who followed the Tang Dynasty from Bingzhou to Yongzhou, from Yongzhou to Jingzhou, and Yizhou, felt very disappointed. After walking in silence for a long time, Xue Li suddenly thought of all their routes No, because Yang Guang told Han Liang that he was going to Meishan. Logically speaking, they should go to the southwest, but now they are obviously going to the southeast. "Mr. Yang, we should go to the southwest. Niudang County in front of us is also occupied by rioters."

"Where do children have so many problems? Go and know yourself." Yang Guang didn't explain much. Niudao County was originally a transit point for supplying Badong grain in the Chengdu Plain. In the past, it was also Han Zhi and Li Yuanji. The direction of the key business is now also the headquarters of Heibingtai and the "caravan" of the Ministry of Commerce, but Han Zhi is still in Chengdu, and I don't know who is in charge of Niutang County now.

Xue Li looked at Yang Guang in shock. Questions came one after another. Yang Guang was calm and wise, but after running for dozens of miles, he didn't even catch his breath. His martial arts were obviously good, but Beside him, in addition to Yang Yichen's powerful and martial arts guards, there are scattered Li Zhi and others, all of them are powerful figures, these people don't look like ordinary people at all, but they are mixed together among the refugees.

This made Xue Li more and more curious. Maybe when he arrived in Niutang County, everything would be clear.

Originally, I could have arrived in Niutang County on the same day, but because of the relationship between Yang Guang and the stubborn donkey, the trip was delayed a bit, and I didn't arrive until noon the next day.

Although they were both rioters, Xue Li immediately felt a different atmosphere when they were close to Niutang County. First of all, when they entered Niutang County, they saw many rioters patrolling outside.

Secondly, this group of people are disorderly people in name, but the military appearance and formation are quite neat, which seems to be not much different from the regular army.

The other is governance. These patrols did not over-check the passers-by. They just checked whether they had weapons before letting them into the city. Even if they had property and food, they did not take them away. Everything was in order and disciplined. It's more like a government than a government.

After entering the city, Xue Li and Zhou Qing were even more shocked. There were peddlers and bargaining customers in the city, and the passers-by seemed to be very comfortable, without a trace of oppressed fear or anxiety, and there were troops on the streets to maintain law and order. , If someone makes trouble, they will be arrested quickly.

This orderly and prosperous scene, even if the city of Chengdu did not exist in the past, it is hard to think that it is a city controlled by a mob force.

At this moment, a cavalry rushed towards them, looking at the posture, it seemed that they were coming towards them. Xue Li and Zhou Qing subconsciously guarded Yang Guang, but they were shocked to find that Yang Yichen did not move at all. Together with Yang Guang, they looked at the charging cavalry very calmly.

Then, under the astonished eyes of Xue Li and Zhou Qing, the middle-aged man in Tsing Yi reined in his horse when he was still ten feet away from Yang Guang, got off his horse and ran to Yang Guang with big strides. " Kneeling on the ground: "Brother, I am A Ji..."

The person who came was Yang Ji, the son of Wei Wang Yang Shuang. At this time, he saw Yang Guang standing in front of him alive, crying loudly like a child, and the tears rolled down one by one like broken beads. , as if to pour out all the grievances and bitterness of the past ten years.

"A Ji, good, good, good..." Yang Guang also recognized it, and he lifted Yang Ji up excitedly, and said with tears in his eyes: "It was because I was incompetent before, and I couldn't protect you and A-Lun. Hearing Dong'er say that you are not dead, I feel happy and feel guilty..."

……

"This..." Xue Li and Zhou Qing looked at the pair of brothers who seemed to be reunited after a catastrophe in surprise, unable to utter a word, and their minds were even more messed up.

Looking at this posture, Old Yang seems to be the leader of the rioters in Niutang County, but why did he help Han Liang pacify Ziyang City?Wouldn't it be good to keep Qin Chong as a buffer?

"This is not a place for narration, let's go to the official office and talk about it." Seeing passers-by stop to watch, Yang Guang quickly regained his imperial demeanor and said to Yang Ji.

"Here." Yang Ji quickly wiped away the tears on his face, and led the way ahead.

When a group of people came to the government office, Yang Guang sat on the upper seat very naturally, and asked Yang Ji, "You are in charge here?"

"No!" Yang Ji bowed and said, "The letter from above has already handed over all the affairs of the Niujia area to my elder brother."

"What an unfilial descendant, even I have been plotted against..." Yang Guang was furious.He didn't plan to make a move at first, but he didn't expect that Yang Tong would arrest him and hand over the entire area of ​​Niu Bian to him, but since he couldn't be lazy, he had no choice but to end this matter as soon as possible: "Tell me about the current situation. "

"Yes!" Yang Jisu said: "After two years of silent management, Niuqian has become an important place for our dynasty in central Shu. After Ziyang City was cut off, the county magistrate was killed by our army. I will take over temporarily, since there is no suitable candidate for the imperial court, I will also be in charge of the county magistrate and county lieutenant."

"The three powers should be separated." Yang Guang thought for a while, and then he had an idea in his mind, "Xue Li."

"Yes!" Xue Li raised his chest subconsciously.

"I know you have doubts, and I will explain them one by one later. Now you are temporarily acting as the county captain, in charge of the laws of the whole county, supervising the implementation of government orders by officials, investigating and punishing corruption and fraud, etc. Yang Ji will give you a detailed explanation later." Yang Guang looked at Xue Li. Although this kid is pitifully young, he is more assertive and doesn't follow blindly. He can experience a lot of experience.

"Here!" Xue Li responded excitedly, and boarded Yang Guang's thief boat in a daze.

Yang Guang looked at Yang Ji: "How many people are there in the city, and how many people are there to fight?"

Yang Ji said: "Niutang County now accepts many disaster victims from all over the world. The population is about [-], and there are [-] soldiers capable of fighting, of which [-] are elites who infiltrated through various methods, and the other [-] are recruits. .”

"That's enough, no more tricks." Yang Guang nodded and said, "Where's the food?"

"In Niutang County, there was originally about 12 shi at the transfer point of the puppet Tang army's grain; and then, in order to cooperate with the imperial court's strategy of 'draining the bottom of the pot', Mr. Han sent the grain purchased from the Chengdu Plain one after another. Now there are more than 40 at least. Stone." Yang Ji said.

Yang Guang nodded slightly. Next, he will cooperate with Xue Wanjun to destroy Zhang Shigui. If he succeeds, it will be regarded as abolishing half of the strength of the Li Tang Dynasty. city.

"Brother, you are an expert in leading the army, and you will be in charge of the army." Yang Guang glanced at Yang Yichen, and said with a snort, "There are no heroes in this era, who made Zhuzi famous! Just let that brat who is arrogant and closes his door to enshrine the gods!" , to see the true strength of a real military god, and you must force him down from the altar."

"Leading troops is of course no problem..." Yang Yichen glanced at Yang Guang who suddenly became domineering and arrogant, smiled helplessly, and said, "But the burden you put on me is really too big, I can't do it." Here we go."

"Are you still the military god I know?" Yang Guang's face was quite ugly, and he stared at Yang Yichen with a dangerous gaze: "You lost your fighting spirit before the fight started, and you are willing to admit defeat?"

"I have completely lost my fighting spirit!" Yang Yichen nodded decisively. He naturally knew that Yang Guang was targeting Yang Tong, but how could that "war god" be "closed on his own"?It was clearly piled up with the bones of millions of aliens. Who can compare to such a shocking record?
After hearing this, Yang Guang almost died of anger: "No prospect, deserter, coward!"

"In the face of the series of brilliant and terrifying achievements, even the famous ancient generals and marshals who rank high are ashamed to say that they can fight well." Yang Yishi no longer fears Yang Guang, and he justifies himself: "So it's not that I'm worthless, but that I'm simply incomparable, so I don't feel ashamed to admit it."

"What are you afraid of? How can you say that you are also his elder and have taught him the art of war, so how dare he beat you?" Yang Guang glared at him angrily and said, "Next time, you will take a thousand soldiers to fight ten Grand Army, if he dares to beat you, I'll show him to death!"

Yang Yichen: "..."

Yang Ji: "..."

Xue Li: "..."

Zhou Qing: "..."

"That's it." Yang Guang emphasized again

"Here." Yang Yichen complied helplessly, but he thought depressingly in his heart: "One thousand hit the top ten legions, and they won in the end. No one would believe such a record."You are shameless, I want more. '

"Old Yang, you are from the Sui Dynasty..." Xue Li looked at Yang Guang with complicated eyes, and he could tell from the previous conversation that he was from the Sui Dynasty.

Xue Li was not surprised that the Sui Dynasty fought against the Tang Dynasty, even the city of Niujia was easily taken away by the opponent. What shocked him was that the food shortage chaos in central Sichuan seemed to be provoked by the Sui Dynasty. It seems that the Sui Dynasty has been planning for a long time, but the Tang Dynasty didn't know anything about it. This kind of terrifying penetration is really shocking. In terms of the current situation in Sichuan, the Sui Dynasty has not yet done anything, and the Tang Dynasty is already defeated.

"Yes, we are all from the Sui Dynasty." Yang Guang nodded and said: "As for the specific identity, it is not yet time to reveal it."

"So, the Great Chaos in Central Sichuan was also written by Mr. Yang?" Xue Li asked anxiously.

"It cannot be generally said that I, or the Great Sui, did it. The root cause is actually the court of the Puppet Tang Dynasty." Facing Xue Li's puzzled eyes, Yang Guang explained: "If Li Yuan is still in charge, then the various forces in the Puppet Tang Dynasty He will also be suppressed by the powerful Li Yuan, and he dare not disobey his orders, but Li Shimin will launch a palace coup when the Sui Dynasty is under pressure. As the Great Sui army crushed the territory, these factions that did not obey him naturally had different ideas. Even without us, there would be chaos in Shu, and what we did was just to add fuel to the flames. Now Although China is in great chaos, Da Sui can take this opportunity to get rid of all the old ills and establish a new order. You have seen the grand occasion of Niutao City now, and I can tell you responsibly: under the rule of Da Sui Perhaps not all of the tens of thousands of cities in the city are richer than this one, but they are all thriving, full of vigor and vitality. And the name 'Sui Dynasty' has no less weight among the surrounding aliens than a strong man. "

Xue Li and Zhou Qing were half-believing. In their eyes, Niujia City was a rare paradise in the world, but now Yang Guang told them that all the cities under the Great Sui Dynasty looked like this, which is really hard to believe.

"Niujiao is just a small city, and although Chengdu is very big, it can't match the prosperity. When you have the opportunity to go to Luoyang, Daxing, Yecheng, Zhuojun, Taiyuan, Jiangdu and other big cities in the future, you will know what it is called. A big city, what is the bearing of a big country.”

Yang Guang said to the two of them again: "It won't be long before all of Shuzhong will be owned by the Great Sui Dynasty, and you will become citizens of the Great Sui Dynasty again! Although you all have the potential to become generals, if you didn't meet me, your life That's it. Fortunately, you met me and didn't leave halfway. If you are lucky enough to live until the end of the war, I will take you to see Yang Tong..." After finishing speaking, without waiting for the two to answer, he went straight Take Yang Yichen and Yang Ji to leave.

……

Xue Li and Zhou Qing stared at each other for a long time, Zhou Qing said to Xue Li: "This old man Yang has a very loud tone, and he directly calls Emperor Shengwu by his name!"

Xue Li said: "Old Yang is also surnamed Yang, maybe he is the elder of Emperor Shengwu."

"Rengui!" Zhou Qing said, "We have become the Sui army now?"

Xue Li nodded and said, "It should be considered."

"I remember that your uncle is Zhang Shigui, and you are leading troops in Puci County..." Zhou Qing and Xue Li are neighbors. Not only do they have a good relationship, but they also know each other well. He said in a low voice: "You came to Shuzhong with General Zhang, and he has been kind to you, but the Tang Dynasty will be over soon, you can't just watch him die, can you? What are you going to do now!"

"I...I don't know..." Xue Li shook his head blankly. He is still young and doesn't know much about the world of adults.

Zhou Qing regained his energy immediately, and made an idea for Xue Li, "Why don't you let General Zhang surrender to Da Sui, not only saving his family, but also repaying his kindness to you, and for Da Sui, you It is also a great achievement, and it has the best of all three."

"Although Shibo is kind to me, I am still an outsider." Xue Li shook his head, not confident about his position in Shibo's heart.

"You are an outsider, so the weight is naturally not enough, but you can go to the relatives of General Zhang's closest relatives." Zhou Qing put Xue Li's shoulders with a smile and said: "I don't think General Zhang's son wants his father to be Li Tang. The dynasty will fight to the death."

"You mean brother Zhang Zhen?"

"That's right. This is General Zhang's own son."

"Is this okay?" Xue Li looked at Zhou Qing uncertainly.

"Of course, listen to me, there will be nothing wrong." Zhou Qing nodded with certainty: "The person who conferred the title and official position on General Zhang was not Li Shimin, but Li Yuan, who sadly called off the curtain. Now everyone says that Li Yuan let Li Shimin Killed. Judging from the fact that Li Shimin killed his younger brother and his family, Li Yuan must be dead. In other words, if General Zhang helped the Sui Dynasty kill Li Shimin, it would be regarded as repaying the favor of the old master, not a rebellion. If If his son also goes to persuade him, no matter how loyal General Zhang is, he won’t be able to ruin the lives of his family for a thing that kills his brother and father and is worse than a beast.”

Zhou Qing was a complete gangster, and he made friends with all kinds of religions and schools on weekdays. Although he was not as big as Xue Li, he was much better than Xue Li who was sheltered by Zhang Shigui in terms of human sophistication.

"Okay, let's go ask Elder Yang what he means!" Although Xue Li felt that Zhou Qing's statement was a little unreliable, he was still ready to fight for the sake of Shibo Zhang Shigui.

(End of this chapter)