Thousand-year-old family: its rise began with Shang Yang’s reforms

Chapter 453: Discussing Heart and Deeds
Most things in the world revolve around the struggle for power.

Nothing is so purely political.

For example, economics, culture, philosophy, thoughts, and even the opinions that a person holds.

This theorem is especially true in the court.

Recently, the ministers of the Sui Dynasty have deeply experienced all of this. The entire court has become a battle between the Prince of Jin and the Crown Prince, it has become a weapon for the two to attack each other, and it has become a fortress of war.

Except for Chen's disciples, no one in the court could escape the disaster and no one could stay out of it.

The reason why Chen's disciples were able to stay out of the matter was very simple. Most of them had no desires or demands. Let alone the fight between the Crown Prince and the Prince of Jin, even if it was a fight between the Sui Dynasty and others, what difference would it make?

This group of people do not rely on deceiving their superiors or nepotism, but on real ability to stand in this court, so even if there is a change of dynasties, they will still do what they are supposed to do.

Of course - this only applies to civil wars.

Chen's disciples have a sense of "Chen". They are isolated from the world and are just dedicated to being loyal to the common people of this land. They do not participate in some civil wars at all, and the emperor will not force them to participate.

Change of dynasty?

can.

As long as it is a civil war in the Central Plains, the Chen family will not interfere.

Dynasties changed, but the main focus was on the battles between the Central Plains and the barbarians? Then this group of people who looked gentle and refined and did not get involved in worldly affairs would become "gentlemen" holding swords, able to kill enemies on horseback and bring peace to the world on foot.

As a result, the factions within the court became increasingly clear.

The Jin Wang Party and the Prince's Party.

It seems that a part of the "imperial party" has merged between the two. This group of people obeys the emperor's orders. They are also not loyal to "Yang Jian" but to the emperor. Whoever becomes the emperor will be their ally. They did not participate in these struggles in the past, but for some reason, this time, some of them also participated in this war.

East Palace
"Crash-"

Yang Yong swept everything on the table to the ground, smashing all the bottles and jars to the ground. His eyes were ferocious, almost revealing a bit of "blood red". He gritted his teeth and said, "What on earth is father doing?"

"I just don't believe that Liu Kang's actions were not directed by him!"

The Crown Princess standing by looked calm, but her face also showed a hint of contemplation.

"Liu Kang has always been my father's confidant. Without my father's order, he would not do anything to help the King of Jin."

The Crown Princess squatted down to clean up the debris on the ground and said softly, "It seems that the Emperor is dissatisfied with you."

dissatisfied?
Yang Yong raised his head fiercely and growled in a suppressed yet hoarse voice: "Why is he dissatisfied? What have I done? As long as it is something he has given me, I will do it conscientiously and with all my strength. As long as it is something he wants to do, there is nothing I cannot accomplish."

"I tried my best to complete what he asked me to do."

"The flood in Huainan, the internal strife in Liaodong, the salt tax in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, one by one, which one was not done by me? Which one was not done by my people? But what? But what was the ending?"

Yang Yong was a little upset: "After the flood in Huainan subsided, I wanted my people to serve as the governor of Huainan. As a result, my father indulged the second son and arranged his people to be the governors to check and balance!"

"Who put down the internal strife in Liaodong and the rebellions in Dongjun and Xijun among the five counties of Liaodong? Wasn't it me who personally came and persuaded the two governors of Nanjun and Zhijun to send troops to put down the rebellion?"

"But what?"

"After the rebellion was quelled, not only did my people not receive any rewards, but the emperor doted on the second son, so after the second son pleaded for mercy, he appointed his men as governors of Dongjun?"

He gritted his teeth and said, "There is also the salt tax from Jiangsu and Zhejiang. If it weren't for my people working diligently to collect the silver that most people had embezzled, would the salt tax from Jiangsu and Zhejiang be so high this year, and even fill the hole in the expedition against Goguryeo in the past few years?"

Yang Yong sat there dejectedly, pressing his forehead: "What on earth is Father thinking about?"

The Crown Princess stood behind him with a helpless look on her face. She gently pressed Yang Yong's shoulders and said carefully, "Your Highness, is there a possibility that this is not what the Second Prince wanted to do, and he just spoke for someone who couldn't speak?"

Because she was standing outside the situation, the Crown Princess was able to better see the meaning behind everything that was going on.

She said quietly and tactfully, "When my father was ill a few days ago, Your Highness didn't seem to visit him much. Instead, you took control of all the power in your own hands."

Just this one sentence awakened Yang Yong who was in the situation.

He frowned and looked at the Crown Princess: "What do you mean?"

The Crown Princess nodded and said, "I have heard that when Emperor Muzong of the previous dynasty was old, he disliked the Crown Prince very much because the Crown Prince was too powerful. So Emperor Muzong supported the "King of Chu" at that time and let the King of Chu compete with the Crown Prince."

"Because of the support of Emperor Muzong, the King of Chu gradually gained the upper hand. At this time, for some unknown reason, the people under the King of Chu suddenly turned against him, and the prince took this opportunity to trip the King of Chu."

"But just when the prince thought he had secured his position, the emperor, for some reason, began to favor the then King of Zhao."

"The King of Zhao was more difficult to deal with than the King of Chu, but in the end the Crown Prince seemed to understand something and stopped paying attention to the King of Zhao. He just did his own thing and then secured the power in his hands."

"Finally, when Emperor Muzong passed away, the crown prince ascended the throne with lightning speed, and then killed the then rampant King Zhao."

"The power of the Zhao Wang lineage has been dispersed."

"After that, the prince worked hard to govern the country and became another famous ruler of the Great Yu Dynasty."

"I find this story very interesting. What do you think, Your Highness?"

Yang Yong's expression changed slightly, and he instantly understood what the Crown Princess meant.

The one who wants to challenge him now is not King Jin, but his father. So even if he defeats King Jin, there will be another king to appear.

It would be better for him to present a situation where he could compete with the King of Jin on equal terms. If he did so, the Emperor would no longer help the King of Jin.

Now, the reason why he was suppressed in the confrontation with King Jin was precisely because he had "won" too many times, to the point that the "referee" couldn't stand it anymore, so he took the field himself.

When the "referee" leaves the field, he will undoubtedly lose, because the decision-making and interpretation power of victory or failure lies with the emperor who is the "referee".

This is something that no one can deny.

Thinking of this, Yang Yong suddenly understood. He looked at the Crown Princess beside him and said, "You are indeed my virtuous wife."

King Jin's Mansion

Yang Guang took the kettle in his hand and watered the flowers in front of him. After watering, he stood in the distance, looking at the blooming flowers with a mocking look on his face: "It looks like a bunch of flowers, but in fact it is just a wedding dress for others."

He waved his hand and said, "Please shovel these flowers away for me. They are an eyesore."

The servant beside him didn't know why Yang Guang, who had always liked this flower, suddenly changed his mood. But he knew that if he didn't do what the King of Jin said, he would not survive today.

So, he replied in a low voice: "Yes."

When all the clusters of gorgeous flowers slowly fell in the dust, another servant came from a distance and said, "Your Highness, Sima Li is here." Sima Li?
Yang Guang raised his eyebrows slightly, put the things in his hand into the hands of the servant beside him, and then said: "How come he has time to come to me today? Let's go and take a look."

lobby
Li Shimin had been sitting there, waiting for a long time.

There was a complicated look in his brows, and he just looked at the flowers in front of him with a tired look on his face.

Footsteps were heard in the distance, and then Yang Guang appeared in front of him.

"Erlang, how come you have time to come here today?"

Li Shimin stood up slowly, and the hesitation and doubt in his expression finally turned into a somewhat determined look. He looked at Yang Guang as if he had just recognized this "Prince of Jin".

He did not address him as "Second Uncle" as before, but simply said in a low voice: "Your Highness, Li Shimin, pays respect to His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin."

Just a name made Yang Guang understand something instantly.

He waved his hand, asked Li Shimin to sit down, and then asked: "Erlang, why do you have time to come here today? You seem to be estranged from me."

Li Shimin did not reply, but looked at Yang Guang and asked: "Your Highness, I have a few questions that I have not been able to answer. I hope you can give me an answer. Otherwise, these questions will linger in my mind and eventually turn into countless malice."

Without waiting for Yang Guang to answer, he said, "My first question is, you were waiting for me outside the Prince of Jin's mansion on purpose. Was it because His Majesty gave you an imperial decree? You said those words because His Majesty had already planned it."

Yang Guang's hand holding the teacup paused slightly. He didn't explain, but admitted directly: "Not bad."

Li Shimin was not surprised, but continued to ask: "What you have done in these years was also because of the will of His Majesty, so you competed with the prince for supremacy. Many of the things you did were not what you wanted to do. You don't care about the people of the world at all."

He raised his head and looked into Yang Guang's eyes.

"Really? Your Highness Prince Jin."

Yang Guang was silent for a long time, then slowly stood up with a gloomy look in his brows.

He whispered, "Yes."

Yang Guang smiled and said, "What the hell are the people of the world? I only care about myself. Whether it's the flood in Huainan or the salt tax in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, my purpose is just to please my father, so I did it hypocritically."

He pointed at his nose and said, "Because I know that as long as I please my father, I can get the rights I want!"

"Rights."

Yang Guang opened his arms: "As long as you have power, you can do whatever you want."

At this time, Yang Guang no longer pretended. He just looked at Li Shimin and said, "Shimin, don't you think this is the best choice? At least I am willing to pretend to be good to the people for the sake of power and reputation."

"The saints once said that filial piety is judged by the heart, not by deeds. If deeds are judged, there will be no filial sons from poor families."

"That's not how I feel."

"I feel that we should judge by deeds rather than intentions. Even if you shout a hundred times that you put the people of the world first, but you do nothing and instead do something bad to the people, then you are still not a sage king."

"Of course, the same is true for filial piety."

"It's what you do that counts, not what you think."

"You shouted that you wanted to be filial to your parents, but you did nothing. You were far away from home. Is this filial piety?"

"On the contrary, you never said a word and never said that you want to be filial to your parents, but you are by your parents' side, taking care of them and doing countless things. Isn't this filial piety?"

Yang Guang's expression was somewhat rebellious. He put his hands in his sleeves and said softly: "So, Shimin, don't look at my heart, look at what I did."

Li Shimin also stood up and looked at Yang Guang sarcastically: "So the flood in Huainan was not caused by your sending people to secretly destroy the dike, and the salt tax in Jiangsu and Zhejiang a few years ago was not caused by your people embezzling there?"

"Or do you think that no one has ever discovered the things you have done in secret over the years?"

"Your Highness Prince Jin, today I realized that the example of the thief crying thief is so close to me."

He said softly, "I can understand that you framed the prince for power. I can also understand that you disguised yourself for power but actually had no heart for the people."

"But why did you harm those people first?"

"Be a bad guy first and make them die, then be a saint and save the people."

"Is this your 'theory'?"

Yang Guang stood there stiffly, without turning around: "How did you know?"

Li Shimin's face was full of disappointment. In fact, although Chen Linan told him about this, he still had a glimmer of hope in his heart, hoping for Yang Guang's explanation, but Yang Guang's words shattered everything.

"You forgot that Lin An and I are good friends."

Just a simple sentence, it is both an explanation and a deterrent.

Because he felt Yang Guang's murderous intent.

After closing his eyes, Li Shimin whispered, "I will submit an application to be transferred to Liaodong County as the governor."

"Stay away from the disputes in the court."

"Your Highness, don't worry that I will join the Crown Prince's side."

After saying this, he bowed.

"Lin'an is still waiting for me, so I won't stay any longer."

"Take care, Your Highness Prince Jin."

Then, he strode away.

In the front hall, Yang Guang stood there, his brows slightly combed.

"never mind."

Outside the Prince of Jin's Mansion
Li Shimin got on the carriage and then slowly drove away into the distance.

The eighteenth year of Kaihuang.

The dispute between Prince of Jin and the Crown Prince became more and more serious. At this time, Li Shimin, the backbone of Prince of Jin's party, General Tiance, Military Sima, and Commandant, submitted a petition for resignation. The emperor tried to retain him many times, and later transferred him to be the governor of Liaodong West County and the envoy of Liaodong Three Roads, in charge of all affairs of Liaodong West County.

This struggle seems to be coming to an end.

(End of this chapter)