I, the son of Yang Guo, abducted Zhang Sanfeng across the heavens

The situation became increasingly chaotic, rebellions by anti-kings all over the country were in full swing, and the Yang Tang court seemed to be crumbling.

There is a sign that Yang Guang finally sent out Yuwen Chengdu.

Of course, sending Yuwen Chengdu had a remarkable effect, and he never lost a battle, defeated many rebel kings and horses, and recovered some of the decline. But everyone saw clearly that no matter how powerful Yuwen Chengdu was, he was just one person and could only deal with one side.

He could not reverse the situation, let alone save the Yang Tang Dynasty.

Sending out Yuwen Chengdu actually made more people aware of Yang Guang's decline.

The second sign is that Yang Xuangan rebelled.

Yang Xuangan's father was Yang Su, the King of Yue, one of the nine founding elders. He was the most powerful candidate to support Dugu Jialuo and Yang Guang's ascension to the throne. Yang Xuangan is Yang Su's eldest son and the current head of the Hongnong Yang family.

Even he rebelled, which shows what state the imperial court has reached now.

But a centipede dies but remains stiff, and a skinny camel is bigger than a dying horse. Why do they all die skinny? Because it was not surprising that Yang Guang could quell Yang Xuangan's rebellion, but it was surprising that he could quell Yang Xuangan's rebellion so easily.

It was originally thought that the Hongnong Yang family would bring great turmoil to the Yang Tang court, like a three-way confrontation, and the consequence would be the complete decline of the Han Dynasty. But unexpectedly, they did not even achieve the effect of the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

Yang Xuangan, the second generation of three dukes, father and son from the same family, from the Hongnong Yang family, even once wanted to depose Yang Guang's hand from the throne. When he first started the rebellion, he fought under the banner of "I don't care about ruining my family and wiping out my clan, just to help the people of the world out of their urgent needs and save the lives of the common people." He once marched all the way into Luoyang and threatened the capital.

At that time, everyone in the world thought that the Yang Tang Dynasty was about to change and Yang Guang was about to be beheaded. Many rebels were already discussing whether to fight or surrender, and many aristocratic families were already regretting that they had started a rebellion too late.

As a result, Yang Xuangan was defeated in the Yellow River. His feigned defeat turned into a real defeat. His brother Yang Xuanting was also shot to death by arrows. For a time, the reputation of Yang Xuangan's army plummeted. Without territory, there would be no food supply. Yang Xuangan had no choice but to "attack" the Hongnong Palace in Huayin.

It took three days to capture the clan’s hometown and base camp.

Everyone saw that Yang Xuangan was strong on the outside but weak on the inside. When the wall fell, everyone pushed it. The troops, who were already short of food, could not get any more food and retreated even faster. In the end, Yang Xuangan, who had attacked Luoyang, was caught up by the pursuers before he even escaped to Henan.

There was no other way, so Yang Xuangan said to his brother Yang Jishan: "This is the end of our business. The Hongnong Yang family has three dukes in two generations. I cannot let anyone kill me and humiliate me. Rather than dying at the hands of the tyrant Yang Guang's soldiers, you'd better chop me to death."

Yang Jishan knelt down in front of his elder brother on the spot, crying and kowtowed on the ground, his forehead was bleeding, "Brother, we are brothers from the same mother, how can I watch you go to die alone? Don't worry, I will kill you first and then commit suicide. Together, we can go to Hades!"

His eyes were firm and his voice was sonorous, which moved Yang Xuangan to tears. "Okay, good brother, there is no coward in our Hongnong Yang family. Let's go down together to see our father and build a career for ourselves in the eyes of the King of Hell!"

"Brother!" Yang Jishan stretched out his knife, his hands were shaking, and he couldn't bring himself to do it. However, the noisy sound of the pursuing soldiers behind him became louder and louder, and it seemed that they were getting closer and closer.

Yang Xuangan glared and shouted angrily: "Do it!"

"Pfft!"

The sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh, Yang Jishan finally killed his elder brother with one blow. Then he held the blade across his neck, closed his eyes, and shouted to the pursuers who could already see the traces of the men and horses: "The king has disrupted the order of the ministers, and has ruined the Five Constants. The Hongnong Yang family will never surrender to the Tang Dynasty! Yang Jishan's great head is here, but none of you can take it away!"

After saying this, he closed his eyes, made up his mind, and didn't move his hands.

The surroundings seemed to have become quiet, no, the surroundings really became quiet. Even Yang Tang and other low-ranking soldiers had never seen such a shameless person.

He said with great enthusiasm, but when it came to committing suicide, the knife seemed to be stuck and did not move at all.

"when!"

The phoenix-wing gilded halberd hit Yang Jishan's helmet, knocking him two feet into the ground like a stake. Yuwen Chengdu, riding on a tall horse, looked down at Yang Jishan and sneered:
"Oh, this General Yang is a master. Look at his hand, he holds the sword so steadily. He was hit by my 420-jin phoenix-wing gilded halberd, but he didn't move at all. The skin on his neck didn't even get broken. Great, just in terms of holding the sword steadily, even I, the most invincible general in the world, am not as good as you!"

"Hehe, hehe, thank you for the compliment. General Yuwen, you are the most powerful general in the world." Yang Jishan grinned and revealed an ugly smile.

"Aren't you going to commit suicide? Go ahead. Such a great head, no one can take it. I admire you. Please take it." Yuwen Chengdu waved his hand and said, "Is the knife not suitable? It's okay. I have a precious sword bestowed by His Majesty. It can cut hair with a sharp blade. Would you like to take mine?"

"No, well, hehe, this knife is too cold. It's uncomfortable to put it on my neck. I have had poor health since I was a child. I can't catch a cold. If I do, I will definitely catch a cold and have a fever, which is not good." Yang Jishan said with a wry smile.

"Oh ha, hahahahahahaha, the knife is too cold, hahahaha!" Yuwen Chengdu laughed so hard that he bent over on his horse. What even Li Yuanba had not done yet was accomplished by Yang Jishan. He bent Yuwen Chengdu's back on the horse, and he could not straighten it for a long time.

"Okay, okay, you have to be Han Chinese. Otherwise, the Hongnong Yang family is a noble family with culture. The knife is too cold, hahaha, the knife is too cold... Tie him up!"

Yuwen Chengdu's expression changed instantly, and when he spoke the last sentence, his voice was so stern that it sounded like thunder in the sky, scaring Yang Jishan so much that he peed and shit on the spot.

"You are so unhygienic."

Yuwen Chengdu covered his nose with a look of disgust and urged his horse to go away. He ordered: "Cut off the head of the traitor Yang Xuangan, put it in a box of quicklime and pickle it, and bring it back to the palace for Your Majesty. Also, tie up this fellow and take him away. If there is any mistake, I will take your heads!"

"Oh!"

As the soldiers responded in unison, Yang Xuangan was beheaded, and this grand and huge rebellion movement came to an end.

Yuwen Shu, who defeated Yang Xuangan's rebels in one battle, also became a famous general of the dynasty. Yuwen Chengdu, who followed his grandfather to the war, was even more brilliant, and he established the value of the title of "the world's number one general who guards the country and the palace".

Don’t be fooled by the long name, which sounds like some second-rate brand, because when a fight breaks out, they really have some skills.

Similarly, Jinan Prefecture's Iron Spear General Huer also became famous throughout the world for his dispatch of troops to reinforce the rebellion. In the past, people only boasted about it among themselves, and no one had ever seen it. There had been no civil war in the country for many years, and everyone's understanding of the combat effectiveness of the army generals was still at the level of the generals of the Northern Zhou and Southern Chen eras.

Now, when Yuwen Chengdu and Lai Huer take action, one fact is immediately revealed: times have changed, and the strength of the generals is completely different from before.

Yang Xuangan's body was finally sent to Luoyang, where the furious Yang Guang hacked it into pieces, cut it into small pieces, dried it over a fire, coated it with breadcrumbs, and fried it in a pan until it was golden and crispy. The children next door were so greedy that they cried.

No, his younger brother next door was scared to tears.

"Your Majesty, I was forced into this, Your Majesty. I want to live!" Yang Jishan knelt beside him and kowtowed. He smelled the aroma of his elder brother's meat, his face pale.

The good thing this time was that no feces or urine came out. Yuwen Chengdu was very cautious in his work. He made Yang Jishan starve for a day before and then beat him twice to ensure that his body was empty to avoid misbehaving in front of the palace. Now it seems that the effect is indeed significant.

"Nonsense, you are being coerced. I heard that Yang Xuangan wanted to dethrone me back then, and you were not there?" Yang Guang propped up his head with his hands on the dragon bed, squinting at Yang Jishan below, "Can you dethrone me just because you want to?"

Yang Guang almost roared out his last words. He recalled the incident several years ago when Yang Gui and Yang Jian openly kidnapped someone in his hall and beat him up. His eyes turned bloodshot.

"How can this be possible? How can this be possible, Your Majesty..."

"Tell him to shut up." Yang Guang waved his hand, and Yuwen Chengdu picked up the phoenix-wing gilded halberd and stabbed it into Yang Jishan's mouth, knocking out all his teeth and piercing his lips, making it difficult for him to speak.

"Hmph, rebellion... My dear ministers, what do you say?" Yang Guang's eyes were as sharp as a knife as he swept coldly over the group of aristocratic families in the court.

Yang Guang was indeed ambitious but incompetent, and he did not have as many methods and accumulated strength as his father Yang Jian did with the help of Yang Gui. However, he was able to gather a million troops in a short period of time to conquer Goguryeo three times, dig the Grand Canal, and even move the capital from Chang'an to Luoyang, which shows that he still had a way to control the court.

At the beginning, Yang Guang's open and covert struggles with the aristocratic families always ended with him being defeated. Whenever Yang Guang felt that he had some strength and a certain foundation, he tried to compete with the aristocratic families, but he was always rejected by soft or hard nails.

It was like he finally mustered up the courage to stand in front of his enemy and ask for a duel, but the enemy said nothing and after two big blows from him, Yang Guang became obedient.

It is not okay to be dishonest. Again, the monopoly of the right to control and interpret knowledge has created the foundation for the rule of the aristocratic families. When Yang Guang was in power, more than half of the officials in the court, or officials in one or two provinces, were opposed, passive, and crying and complaining. Yang Guang had no way to deal with it.

It is true that Yang Guang was a tyrant, but tyrants were never as arbitrary, levying heavy taxes, and being cruel and extravagant as they were in operas. That was too stupid. If he could not control the court, many people would still be eyeing the throne.

So it was impossible for him to kill more than half of the officials in the court and all the officials in the two provinces. How could the court function in this way? If all the officials were killed, it would be hard to say whether the court could function or not. At least it would give the aristocratic families a basis for rebellion in the local area.

They don't have to go out and contribute money, manpower and effort to support a few rebel forces. If taxes and grain cannot be collected, what's the point of Yang Guang controlling the army? Which soldier would follow Yang Guang to die for love without military pay?
Moreover, throughout all the feudal dynasties in ancient my country, there was a phenomenon that “imperial power did not go to the countryside”. The most minute power in the local area was always controlled by the clan, and even the emperor could not touch it.

The emperor issued a major policy, but when you go to implement it, others will not let you implement it. What can you do? In the long run, the emperor and the big clans can only form an unspoken understanding, give in to each other, and test each other.

Therefore, Yang Guang actually lived a very frustrating life in the first few years after he inherited the throne. Until he discovered the blind spot.

minority.

Yang Tang himself rose from the ranks of the ethnic minorities in the Northern Dynasties. At that time, most of the civil and military officials in the court were from ethnic minorities, who were tough and had no communication with the Han people.

The key point is that they are not connected.

Aren't you a powerful family? Don't you control the officials' backgrounds and the order of the officialdom? Don't you resign collectively and try to cause chaos in the court when there is a disagreement?
Well, I have found a replacement now.

The Hu people are not as troublesome as the Han people. They believe that the strong is king. You said that if I don't listen to you, you will resign with all the officials in your family? Great, it's a deal, double happiness!
In fact, if we look back at history, the reason why the Qing Dynasty could kill or give life to any Han official, no matter how high his rank, was because they had two teams. The core power was always in the hands of the bannermen, so naturally there was no such thing as the Han emperors being forced to abdicate by their ministers.

Since he began to employ Xianbei families such as the Yuwen family, Yang Guang has become much more assertive in the court.

"Well, I think that Yang Xuangan committed rebellion and his crime is unforgivable. His entire family should be executed and his descendants should be exterminated." A civil servant came forward and said tremblingly.

You have to be trembling with fear. The situation has reversed. Now Yang Guang dares to kill anyone. Just poke Yuwen Chengdu there, and there is no need to wait for the execution. With the emperor's order, the phoenix-wing gilded halberd weighing more than 400 kilograms will smash your head.

"I second the proposal."

"I second the proposal."

The other civil servants spoke one by one.

There is nothing much to say about this matter. Since they have already committed rebellion, beheading and confiscating property are normal measures.

"Well, the whole family should be executed. That's a good suggestion. But which family do you mean?" Yang Guang sneered twice, looked down and asked, "Which Yang family is the Yang family? Is the Hongnong Yang family considered the Yang family?"

"Your Majesty, no!"

Some of the noble families became anxious on the spot. Since ancient times, if one was defeated, only the person himself would be punished, and the clan would not be implicated. Why are you breaking the rules?
If all the Hongnong Yang family members can be killed today, what about tomorrow? How much stronger are they than the Hongnong Yang family members?

For a time, many people were opposed.

“Chengdu, what do you think?”

Yang Guang looked at the officials below who were in an uproar and asked Yuwen Chengdu lazily. (End of this chapter)