Sui Dynasty: I, Yang Guang, am both scrupulous and stable

Chapter 302

What Yang Xuangan did in Qufu was reported to Yang Guang who was marching that day.

Yang Guang couldn't help but smile: "Xuangan is really interesting."

Yuan Tiantian said to Yang Guang: "Your Highness, aren't you afraid that Yang Xuangan will offend these people?"

"Then you don't know these people very well. What's wrong with giving them a little face? Yang Xuangan has a higher status than them, and he doesn't have the ability to communicate with all of them. He asked people to send greetings to their door and choose from them. The interviewer obviously wants to choose the most powerful among them for the interview. How is this strength reflected? A gift will be given along with the invitation."

Yang Guang touched Yuan Tiantian's somewhat confused head: "In the eyes of these people, it is useless for you to be fair and strict, and it is useless for you to be superior. Only if you accept their gifts and collude with them is it useful."

"Your Highness, aren't you afraid of criticism from others? It's so blatant. If His Majesty knew about it, I'm afraid he would also blame him."

"The gift was received by Yang Xuangan, what does it have to do with me, Yang Guang?"

As soon as Yang Guang said this, Yuan Tiantian immediately understood. In this way, wouldn't Yang Xuangan be a bit like a scapegoat?
But if you think about it carefully, Yang Xuangan, the scapegoat, has Yang Su and Yang Guang as his backers. As long as his backers don't fall, and as long as the scapegoat doesn't do appalling acts, there will always be someone to back him up, and he will always be fine.

If you think about history, there are not a few such scapegoats. Many people who hold great power will always have such a scapegoat to help them do things they are not suitable to do and help them receive gifts they are not suitable to receive.

Yang Xuangan's silly image is a good cover.

Yang Guang was not worried that Yang Xuangan would do anything outrageous, and said: "Yang Xuangan, although his actions are sometimes unpredictable, he is not greedy in food, drink, prostitution and gambling, and he does not have a great desire for money. I have never been short of money since I was little, and I can be more assured that he will not be corrupted and used against me."

Hearing what Yang Guang said, Yuan Tiantian really felt that Yang Xuangan was the chosen scapegoat.

On the night when Yang Xuangan was in Qufu, many noble families came to send greetings, and naturally many gifts followed.

Yang Xuangan had one rule: he would not reject anyone who came, and he would only admit the best.

He quickly found the most valuable one among the pile of gifts. It was a box of gold. Without all the glitz and pretense, it just lay there in a golden state. It was straightforward. Yang Xuangan liked such straightforward people.

"Who sent this box of gold?"

"Yes, the Zhao family of Wei County has been in Wei County for hundreds of years and has good relations with both the political and business circles."

"Let him come to see me first tomorrow. He is so sincere. I think he is a good guy."

Early the next morning, Zhao Fenghua from the Zhao family in Wei County was waiting at the door with a very respectful attitude. He waited for a full hour before he got the chance to be summoned.

Zhao Fenghua is a slightly fat middle-aged man with a cheerful smile and a happy face.

When he saw Yang Xuangan, he said to him very respectfully: "Young Master Yang, I am the current head of the Zhao family in Wei County. Zhao Yuming serves in the Shaofu Courtyard in Beijing, and are you still a colleague of Yang Shaofu?"

"Oh? Really? Is there such a person in Shaofuyuan?"

Zhao Fenghua said with some embarrassment: "Zhao Yuming has been in Shaofuyuan for five years. You should know him."

"Oh? That's right. But I've never been to the Shaofuyuan. I have to find a chance to go there next time, otherwise I won't know who's there."

Zhao Fenghua had black lines on his head and cold sweat, and continued to flatter him: "Young Master Yang is a noble man, so he should be busy."

"Master Zhao, right? I received your greeting card. Why did you come to see me today?"

"Young Master Yang, it's nothing serious. You have arrived in Shandong. We are considered locals. We thought we would have to come and see you no matter what. We would like to ask Mr. Yang to take care of our Zhao family in the future."

Yang Xuangan said grandly: "It's easy to say, easy to say, hey~ Wei County is not the boundary of Shandong."

"On the way, on the way."

"It makes sense. The Zhao family leader is such a generous and polite person. I think he is someone who can do great things. I wonder if the Zhao family leader still has free time to reach out and do something for the court?"

Hearing this, Zhao Fenghua immediately became more respectful: "Hey, Yang Shaofu, what are you talking about? If I can serve the imperial court, I will do my best."

Isn't the meaning of Yang Xuangan's words obvious enough?This is not just sending resources to the door, but Zhao Fenghua has also made up his mind. The resources given to him this time may not be very good, but for the first time to cooperate, both parties must benefit, and even if it is not very good, it must be done.

"Master Zhao, do you know the Grand Canal?"

Zhao Fenghua's eyes lit up: "Young Master Yang, of course I know this. The Grand Canal Project under the leadership of His Royal Highness the King of Jin has built a transportation canal between Daxing City and Luoyang City. Now, there is a long way between the two cities. It can be reached by water in two or three days, and trade will be more prosperous.”

"Yes, so His Highness the King of Jin started to build the Yongji Canal from Zhuojun to Luoyang. This section of the road is longer and longer, and involves more places. If I remember correctly, Wei Jun seems to be in the Yongji Canal. Plan the edges of your route.”

Hearing this, Zhao Fenghua couldn't bear to be excited. The Grand Canal is a big project. Since ancient times, the bigger the project, the greater the room for greed.

How much can you covet for a 100-tael gold project?A project worth 10 taels of gold can make you greedy much more than this if you slip a little bit between your fingers.

Yang Xuangan immediately said: "Let's do this. The canal excavation project in the Weijun section will be fully handed over to your Zhao family. All the project standards, the distance and depth of the excavation, I will have someone send it to you, and all the funds needed will be sent to you." Send it over and leave it to the Zhao family leader and the local officials in Wei County to handle it."

Isn't this just giving money directly?Only send a few supervisors who understand technology?

He has never done such a project. Generally speaking, court affairs have a lot of red tape and lengthy relationships, so there are many aspects that need to be taken care of and there are many stakeholders involved.

And if Yang Xuangan said this, the relationship network would become much easier, and he would have more room for maneuver.

Zhao Fenghua only felt that Yang Xuangan really didn't understand the way of being an official and how to do things.

The silly son of the landlord, the legendary big fat sheep, turns out to be true.

"I, Zhao Fenghua, would like to thank Mr. Yang on behalf of our Zhao family in Wei County."

"but……"

A sudden sentence after a long time brought Zhao Fenghua's mood back from the sky.

"But, although I can leave things to you, there are certain restrictions." "You said."

Yang Xuangan stood up, walked slowly, and said: "His Royal Highness the King of Jin has a theory called the theory of consequences. He doesn't care about the process, as long as he can achieve the results he wants within the time. He wants the canal to be smooth and the quality and quantity to be maintained. This That’s what he asked for.”

Zhao Fenghua hurriedly answered: "This is natural."

"There are several requirements here. First, the workers' salaries must be paid in full. The workers' salaries are not worth much. Of course, I also believe that the Zhao family will not deduct the workers' salaries."

"Nature, nature."

"Second, the quality of the canal will need to be inspected in the end. If the quality is not up to standard, the higher-ups will be blamed. Not only you, I will also be implicated. So if it weren't for the fact that Mr. Zhao is a generous person, It’s impossible for me to leave this matter to you.”

Zhao Fenghua still smiled and said: "Naturally, naturally."

"Third, His Highness the King of Jin adheres to the principle of who builds it and who is responsible for it, which means that if you build this section of the canal, in the following period, the court will allocate funds for dredging every year, so this matter will also fall into place. On top of your head, the desilting work must be done well, otherwise the siltation will make it impossible to sail, and the court will still have to blame it."

"So, Mr. Zhao, maintaining quality and quantity is the most important thing. After all, water will flow slowly."

Hearing this, it sounded like a strict requirement, but in Zhao Fenghua's ears, the biggest keyword was a steady stream of water.

Every year, the court allocates funds for dredging, and this money falls on him. This is a long-term project.

Don't get rich overnight, but keep it flowing.

In the future, you can always ride this express train, and your interests will be bound for a long time. Why not?

Zhao Fenghua understood this kind of thing at once, and immediately agreed with joy.

"Young Master Yang, don't worry, I'll take the matter from your hands and I won't embarrass you."

"I feel relieved when you say that. Please step back first. I will send someone to contact you later. I only have an hour to meet with people in the morning. You spent almost half an hour here. You can't wait for a while." It delayed my lunch."

"Then I will take my leave first."

Zhao Fenghua left the house happily, and the people waiting for the meeting outside were almost impatient.

They murmured to each other: "This man is even more powerful than before, and His Highness the Crown Prince's subordinates are not so powerful when they meet with us and others."

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince doesn't know what's going on now. People in the capital say he has fallen out of favor. Traditional traditions have always been rejected by everyone. Now that His Majesty is sending King Jin to Youzhou City, isn't it to take over the entire sphere of influence that His Highness the Crown Prince once had?"

"Shh, be gentle. Be careful not to offend anyone. Zhao Fenghua went in. He will come out later and ask about his condition."

When everyone saw Zhao Fenghua coming out, they gathered around him.

"Brother Zhao, what's going on inside?"

"Brother Zhao, let's talk about it."

Zhao Fenghua waved his hands, naturally he would not tell anyone about the benefits he got, but everyone knew from the look on his happy face that the conversation was good.

Zhao Fenghua bowed to the door of the mansion in front of everyone and said: "Young Shaofu is really a pillar of our Sui Dynasty. What he says and does is a role model for our generation. I, Zhao Fenghua, admire me very much. I will fully cooperate with Yang Shaofu." That’s it.”

Hearing his words, everyone knew that Zhao Fenghua seemed to be on the fast ship of King Jin.

Seeing him walking away happily, interested people communicated privately: "Zhao Fenghua, this old boy, is famous for his ability to avoid rabbits and eagles. It can make him so happy. It shows that Yang Xuangan should be just like the rumors, his head is not very easy to use. Let him take advantage of it. This old boy came here with a big gift yesterday. No, I have to prepare more. It is better to go in early and talk. If it is late, I may not even be able to drink the soup. "

Soon, the group of noble families waiting at the door went to prepare gifts.

In line with the simple quality of thrift and the shy character of not being good at rejecting others, Yang Xuangan once again accepted all these gifts as ordered.

The courtiers left by Yang Guang beside him said worriedly: "Young Master Yang, I'm afraid it won't be good to accept them all like this."

Yang Xuangan said nonchalantly: "Do you know what people who give gifts are most afraid of?"

"You accept the gift and don't do anything?"

"That's wrong. What I'm most afraid of is not being able to send it in. This has been the case throughout the ages."

Yang Xuangan patted the booklet in his hand: "I ordered the recipient of the gift to remember the names, addresses, and gift details of all the people who came to give gifts clearly in front of them, without missing a word. You have to let them see it for themselves.”

"I accepted the gifts this time, but I only chose a few of them to see. That is to tell them that our threshold is high, and their meager gifts cannot be seen in my face. At the same time, the people I met, such as Zhao Fenghua from Wei County, he In fact, his gift is not the most generous, but he is on the side of the canal and can bind interests for a long time. For us, they are asking for this now. We can bind them with small but long-term interests first. As for those who are really To the big family, I sent a greeting note, so every family should come over."

After saying this, Yang Xuangan threw the book aside again: "As for those I haven't met, when I leave Qufu, I will order them to give gifts in return. Although I haven't met in person, the gifts have been sent in and registered. Now, let me tell them that I know, and His Highness King Jin also knows, this is one of our own, even if there is a liquidation in the future, we will not be able to liquidate them."

The guard suddenly realized.

Yang Xuangan continued: "You can tell His Highness the King of Jin everything I said, in detail. You are a member of Yingyang Guard, and this is your duty."

The guard was stunned and immediately said: "Young Master Yang, I have no intention of spying on you, and I don't dare to criticize your behavior. Please don't misunderstand me."

"If there is any misunderstanding, please don't misunderstand me. You are from Yingyangwei. His Highness King Jin told me directly when he sent you here. He called it sincerity when he communicated with me. The same goes for me and the same goes for you. Do your best. Just do your own duties, I will be rich and powerful, and you will also be promoted and make a fortune."

The guard looked at Yang Xuangan in surprise and added a sentence to Yang Guang's letter: "Yang Xuangan is as wise as a fool and is different from ordinary people."

Yang Xuangan said to another guard: "I've been waiting for the old man for two days. You can go to Kong's house later and inform Kong Sheng and Kong Bo that I will meet them tomorrow night. And I have kept secret messages with them. I want to see them before they meet." The alchemist who prophesied about Mount Tai."

"Yes, Mr. Yang."

Yang Xuangan looked at the dark night. When he talked about the alchemist, he showed a sad look for the first time. He could handle other things well by himself, but he didn't know how to deal with the alchemist?
Because mysterious things are very serious and cannot be judged by common sense.

(End of this chapter)