Emperor Sui Yang

Chapter 181 The Court Balancer

As long as people mention Yang Su, they will compare Gao Jiong, but when Gao Jiong is mentioned, Yang Su is rarely mentioned.

The reason is simple, regardless of prestige and talent, Gao Jiong is greater than Yang Su.

The life experience of this person can be described as magnificent and splendid.

Great Sui Dynasty Hall, Dukes of Gungun, as long as you look at his surname, you can probably know his origin. Gao Jiong was born in the Bohai Gao family, which is Jingxian County, Hebei Province. It belongs to Hengshui City and is in the same place as the Northern Qi royal family. people.

His father, Gao Bin, is Dugu Xin's confidant, and was given the surname Dugu Shi. Their family is the retainer of the Dugu family.

When Yang Jian was the Prime Minister of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, the father-in-law Dugu Xin had already hung up, but Dugu Jialuo recommended Gao Jiong to Yang Jian. Since then, Gao Jiong has become the number one confidant in the hearts of Yang Jian and his wife, and it is still to this day.

At the age of 40, he followed Wei Xiaokuan in the crusade against Yuchijiong's rebel army, was promoted to the state of Zhu, named Duke of Yining County, and promoted to Sima of the Prime Minister's Mansion.

At the age of 41, Yang Jian usurped the Zhou Dynasty, worshiped Gao Jiong as the Shangshu Zuopushe, and also served as a minister of Nayan, and was granted the title of Duke of Bohai County.

At the age of 42, he was also the general of the left guard who led the head of the twelve guards.

At the age of 48, he was appointed Marshal Chang Shi, and assisted Yang Guang to go south to destroy Chen. Gao Jiong was the real planner and decision maker behind the scenes in the battle to destroy Chen. Han Qinhu and He Ruobi were all driven by him.

At the age of 49, he was awarded the title of Shangzhu Kingdom, and was promoted to the Duke of Qi, and the title has reached its peak.

The person in charge of the new capital, Daxing City, and one of the revisioners of the Kaihuang Law, including the administration, official system, and local system after the founding of the Sui Dynasty, were also completed under the auspices of Gao Jiong.

This man has been the prime minister of the Sui Dynasty for 20 years.

He Ruobi was so arrogant that he didn't dare to beep in front of Gao Jiong.

When Yang Ming was in front of Empress Dugu, whenever Gao Jiong was summoned into the palace, he had to move a stool for him. It can be seen that this man's courtesy was second to none in the Sui Dynasty.

Gao Jiong brought Yang Ming into his reception room, which was empty and very simple.

Yang Ming knew that more than half of the furniture and utensils in Gao Jiong's mansion were purchased with the help of Queen Dugu. The relationship between the two of them was very deep until Yang Yong's accident.

After Gao Jiong invited Yang Ming to sit down, he ordered his son Gao Hongde to serve tea.

Gao Hongde was originally an official of the Jin Palace, but after Yang Guang was crowned prince, he was not brought into the East Palace. The reason is self-evident, because he is Gao Jiong's son.

Now, like his father, he stays at home and works flexibly. In history, after Gao Jiong was killed, Gao Hongde was exiled to Lingnan, disappeared halfway, and his whereabouts are unknown.

Gao Jiong behaved very indifferently and hardly spoke. Yang Ming also felt that the atmosphere was very strange, so he took the initiative to smile at Gao Hongde and said:

"I see Erlang quite familiar."

Gao Hongde replied with a smile: "I used to work as an aide in the Prince Jin's Mansion, and I have met His Royal Highness a few times."

"I see. Erlang, please sit down. I am the guest today, and Erlang is the master. Please don't be reserved," Yang Ming said with a smile.

Gao Hongde nodded: "Being obedient is worse than being respectful."

Then, he sat down behind Gao Jiong.

Yang Ming took the initiative to ask again: "How is Mr. Dugu's health recently?"

Gao Jiong sipped his tea and said lightly, "It's the same."

"That's good, that's good," it was so embarrassing, Yang Ming could see that he didn't seem to be willing to talk to him,
"The eldest princess knows that Duke Dugu likes the pickles from her house, so she specially asked the younger generation to bring them. When there are new pickles in the coming year, I will leave a copy for your old man."

Only then did Gao Jiong nod his head: "The eldest princess has a heart."

Yang Ming hurriedly said: "The eldest princess still misses Mr. Dugu very much. She often said that without Mr. Dugu in the court, it is like a flock of sheep without its leader."

Hearing the words, Gao Jiong narrowed his eyes and said, "I heard that the young Highness and the eldest princess are quite close?"

Yang Ming nodded and said, "We meet often."

Gao Jiong said indifferently: "The Eldest Princess has a high status and rarely gets close to others. Even the abolished Crown Prince Yong rarely had the opportunity to be alone with her to discuss matters. There must be a reason for His Royal Highness to be treated this way."

Faced with Gao Jiong's questioning gaze, Yang Ming didn't know how to answer, so he could only smile and avoid the other party's conversation.

Seeing that he didn't answer, Gao Jiong said with a smile: "Your Highness, have you ever wondered why the Eldest Princess asked you to bring pickles to the old man?"

"I thought about it, but I didn't understand it," Yang Ming replied honestly.

Gao Jiong couldn't help smiling, turned to ask his son, "Do you understand?"

Gao Hongde shook his head and said, "This move must have deep meaning, but the child can't see it through."

Gao Jiong nodded, and said, "The pickles served in the princess's mansion are of Qi local flavor. They are the pickle master brought back from Shandong after the old man wiped out Yuchijiong. The Holy Empress likes it the most, almost every meal must have it."

"Eat it for a long time, and you will become dependent. The Holy Empress once said that I, Gao Jiong, are the pickles of the Holy Empress."

"The Supreme Being doesn't like this pickle, but the Holy Empress and I prefer it. After the Holy Empress passed away, the master who pickled the pickles was brought back to the mansion by the Eldest Princess."

Then, Gao Jiong sighed: "Actually, the eldest princess doesn't like pickles either."

Yang Ming was stunned. Yang Lihua told herself clearly, she likes this kind of pickles very much, doesn't she?
Gao Jiong continued: "She doesn't like it, I just love it, but why only give pickles and not the person who made them? The Princess is reminding me to let me continue to make her pickles, and she , is the person holding the pickle."

Gao Hongde still didn't understand, and asked curiously: "Then why did the eldest princess ask the little highness to send the pickles?"

Gao Jiong smiled: "Because the King of Hedong is also the one who holds the pickles."

Phew. Yang Ming let out a long breath in his heart. He didn't expect to have such a complicated hint when giving pickles.

According to what Gao Jiong said, Yang Lihua probably hoped that Gao Jiong could be used by her. As long as Gao Jiong nodded, then Yang Lihua would start arranging Gao Jiong's return to court.

And Yang Ming, in fact, is in the same position as Gao Jiong, they are both pawns in Yang Lihua's hands, the difference is that Yang Ming is a pawn related by blood, with a family relationship mixed in the middle.

Yang Lihua is a woman and cannot be involved in politics, so supporting Yang Ming as her speaker in the court is to interfere in state affairs from the side.

One Yang Ming is not enough, now Gao Jiong is added.

This woman is worthy of being the old Queen Mother of Zhou, and Yang Ming's tricks and tricks are not comparable to her.

Fortunately, Yang Ming knew in his heart that Yang Lihua was really soft-hearted and kind, and he was sincere to him, otherwise, he would have to worry about not being set aside by her.

Gao Jiong looked at Yang Ming and said, "Tell the Eldest Princess that the Holy Empress has passed away, and the old man is already disheartened. Don't give any more pickles for next year."

This sentence is tantamount to rejecting Yang Lihua's solicitation.

Yang Ming frowned and nodded: "This junior should tell the truth."

Gao Jiong was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help laughing: "Just tell the last sentence, don't say the middle one."

Yang Ming came to his senses immediately, and said with a smile, "This junior knows what to say and what not to say."

Gao Jiong nodded, and continued: "Your Highness, assuming an important position in the Central Committee, remember not to compete with Su Wei and Niu Hong. The remaining sons are nothing, but you must pay attention to Liu Shu."

Yang Ming said sincerely: "The younger generation can tell that Mr. Dugu's advice is really from the bottom of his heart."

Gao Jiong looked at Yang Ming's filial piety again, and said sadly:
"In this life, this old man has achieved today only after being favored by the Holy Empress. Your Highness grew up at the knees of the Holy Empress. Gao, you don't need to be hypocritical to you. Liu Shu said that this son has no talent, no virtue, and no meritorious foundation. Now that he is facing the trend, he must Falling because of the situation, but when it is in power, your highness should temporarily avoid the edge."

Yang Ming said suspiciously: "I don't want to provoke him, but he has been provoking me, and there is no way to avoid it."

"Or, he is a fool," Gao Jiong said with a smile: "When Su Wei was fighting with me back then, when he met me, he performed the gift of a disciple and respected me very much. When the court was leaving, he didn't dare to move if I didn't turn around. He is always the first one to visit this old man during the holidays, so you need to be careful when you meet such a person, Liu Shu's expression is full of joy and anger, and his thoughts are written on his face, so there is nothing to be afraid of."

Yang Ming knew that Su Wei was also recommended by Gao Jiong before he became an official. That's why he saw Gao Jiong and wanted to perform the gift of discipleship.

But later, Su Wei started to challenge Gao Jiong, but the result was of course a failure. Dugu Jialuo was very upset at the time, and suggested that Yang Jian would take care of Su Wei, so Su Wei was charged with colluding with cronies and was dismissed by Yang Jian.

So that after Su Wei returned to the court, he no longer dared to challenge Gao Jiong, but changed himself and became Gao Jiong's number one supporter.

Among the four nobles in the early Sui Dynasty, except for Yang Xiong who was born in the clan, the rest Su Wei and Yu Qingze were all recommended by Gao Jiong.

From this we can see how high Gao Jiong's status was in the Sui Dynasty.

If Yang Jian didn't think that Gao Jiong had too much power, he would never have supported Yang Su to take the lead.

Yang Ming asked curiously: "In Dugu Gong's opinion, when did Liu Shu lose power?"

Gao Jiong pondered for a moment, then said: "Yang Su lives at home and works. Normally speaking, Liu Shu has lost its role, but now Yang Su has gone to Renshou Palace to serve the sick. Liu Shu should still be in power in the short term, and so am I. It wasn't until His Royal Highness returned to the capital that he realized that His Excellency was procrastinating to give His Royal Highness enough time to grow up to replace Yang Su, and the day Yang Su completely leaves the court is the day when Liu Shu loses power."

"How can this junior be so qualified to replace Duke Yue?" Yang Ming asked in surprise.

Gao Jiong said with a smile: "I just want you to take part of Yang Su's role, and it's not like I want you to be a slave shooter."

Yang Ming understood that what Gao Jiong meant was that the role of being supported was actually to balance the forces of all parties in the court as a clan, similar to the role of Wei Wang Yang Shuang.

Whoever takes the lead, Yang Ming will target. Whoever is weak, Yang Ming will support instead. In fact, he is a court balancer.

A person like him cannot form a party for personal gain, and can only listen to one person, that is the emperor.

In fact, the two positions of left and right servants were historically vacant during Yang Guang's period because of too much power.

After all, Yang Guang suffered deeply from being checked and balanced by the left and right servants, and believed that these two positions should not exist, which was not conducive to the high concentration of imperial power.

Yang Ming knew the direction of history, so he knew better than Gao Jiong when Liu Shu would die.

However, the conversation with Gao Jiong today has benefited a lot. Yang Ming feels that if possible in the future, he should try his best to protect the other party.

Of course, if Gao Jiong was of no use to him, he would be a sacrificial child.

Use when you are good, and dismiss when you are not good. This is the only rule of employing people.

(End of this chapter)