Emperor Sui Yang

Chapter 290 Whiplash
There is an essential difference between powerful ministers and favored ministers.

Yang Su is a powerful minister. Relying on the huge power of the family behind him, as well as his own extraordinary insight and strategic means, he stands as firm as Mount Tai in the court. Only the emperor can move him, and it is not easy for the emperor to want to move him.

And Yu Wenshu is a favorite, his wealth and life are closely related to the emperor, too dependent on the emperor, his position will not be stable, because the favorite sometimes falls out of favor.

As for Gao Jiong, he is both a favored minister and a powerful minister. This kind of person is the most powerful, but his flaws are also very fatal. If he was favored by the previous emperor, he will definitely fall out of favor with the current emperor.

Once Yang Su died, Gao Jiong was in danger.

So Yang Ming guessed that next time, the old man would probably find a reason to kill Gao Jiong, even though Gao Jiong didn't leave the gate, he was just a loafer.

Little do they know that when people sit at home, disasters come from heaven.

At the court meeting on this day, someone from Yushitai sued Gao Jiong, saying that he slandered the court.

What is the slander? Of course, it is the two projects of Tokyo and the Canal. It is not a false accusation, because Gao Jiong has always opposed these two national policies, not against the line, but against the steps.

The current Yang Guang has inherited the rich family property left by Yang Jian. This family property was accumulated little by little by the veterans who assisted Yang Jian throughout the founding emperor period.

As a person who experienced it personally, Gao Jiong naturally couldn't see Yang Guang's extravagance and waste, and some dissatisfied words were also passed on to the court.

Yang Guangda was furious and wanted to punish Gao Jiong immediately.

Fortunately, at this time, many of the bigwigs in the center of the court are former ministers of the founding emperor, let alone Su Wei Niu Hong, even Yang Xiong, Yang Hong, Yang Zhiji, He Ruobi, Shi Wansui, etc., also stood up to replace Gao Jiong. plead.

Obviously, with so many people coming forward to protect Gao Jiong, Yang Guang can't move. Only by dividing these people step by step can he have a chance.

But punishment is definitely inevitable. It is Yang Ming who is responsible for punishing Gao Jiong. The punishment is [-] lashes.

At Gao Jiong's age, twenty whips would definitely not be able to withstand it, and he might even die from his injuries. The courtiers still had counselors, all of whom were scolded bloody by Yang Guang.

And Yang Ming's performance today almost drove Yang Guang to death.

He refused.

"Dugu is a hero of the country, a good minister of the country. He has been in power for 20 years. The government and the people have been convinced. There is no objection. The governance has led to peace. The emperor Gaozu cited him as a good assistant from heaven. This is just a mistake in words. It is not like this. I hope the father and emperor will learn from it. "

After finishing speaking, Yang Ming fell to his knees with his forehead on the ground.

At the same time, Niu Hong also planned to come out, but was stopped by Su Wei.

Su Wei knew in his heart that at this time, Yang Ming could only stand up alone, and no one else could help. To help would be to harm him, and he would be regarded as forming a clique.

The reason why Yang Ming was willing to take such a big risk was because he knew that Gao Jiong couldn't bear twenty lashes.

He didn't want Gao Jiong to die.

Because there is a saying in history that Gao Jiong's death was an important moment in the Sui Dynasty's transition from prosperity to decline. If this person is used well, it will be the atmosphere of peace in the world.

It's a pity that he doesn't have Yang Su's ability to bend and stretch, so he is destined not to be welcomed by Yang Guang.

Yang Guang, who was on the throne, was already extremely angry in his heart at this moment. He never thought that his son would dare to embarrass him in court.

Are the wings so hard that you don't even listen to my words?
Yang Guang remained expressionless, and said in a deep voice, "Why do you keep your height so high?"

"For the sake of the father, for the country, and for the world," Yang Ming kowtowed.

"Haha." Yang Guang laughed and said, "It's good to be a king, a country, and the world. What do you mean, if I punish Gao Jiong, I will be a foolish king? The country will not be the country?"

As soon as these words came out, many people couldn't help swallowing their saliva.

Many people think that the King of Qin was indeed reckless today. At this critical moment when the crown prince is still unknown, how could you be so stubborn with the emperor?Don't want to be a prince anymore?
Seeing this, Yang Hao at the side was also hesitating in his heart, whether he should make trouble, take this opportunity to stab the third child in the back, or keep the third child first, and then plan for the funeral.

After thinking about it, he felt that the third child could not have an accident, so he stood up and said:
"Father, my child thinks"

"To shut up!"

Yang Guang really thought that the second child was going to stab the knife in the back, so he hurriedly stopped it, because he didn't intend to punish the third child, but if the second child stood up and added fuel to the fire, I'm afraid the two brothers would break up immediately.

"I didn't ask you," Yang Guang said coldly.

With an embarrassed expression on his face, Yang Hao returned to his original position, bowed his head and remained silent.

At this time, Yang Guang continued to look at Yang Ming, and said in a deep voice, "If you give me a reasonable reason, I will spare Gao Jiong."

As soon as these words came out, Su Wei and the others breathed a sigh of relief. It was obvious that this was a step for King Qin.

Yang Ming raised his head and said: "Gao Jiong's crimes lie in his conceit, his narrowness, his conceited talent, his lack of insight, and the Tokyo Canal, all of which are my plans for the millennium of the Sui Dynasty. Narrow-minded, dissatisfied with being treated coldly, so that the words of slander spread in the court, this person is guilty, but the minister thinks that his crime is not enough to cover his merits, so I hope the emperor will forgive me."

At this time, everyone's eyes turned to the emperor again, to see how he would respond next.

It is undoubtedly a very interesting thing for Laozi to fight against his son.

Yang Ming's words meant to belittle Gao Jiong, but they were actually giving Yang Guang a step up. Yang Guang also knew in his heart that Yang Su could not compare to Gao Jiong in terms of governing ability alone.

If it wasn't because Gao Jiong didn't take him seriously, he would not be willing to abandon such a talent.

Third child, third child, for the sake of Gao Jiong, you are really willing to let go.

Yang Guang was silent for a long time, and finally under the expectation of everyone, he spoke slowly:
"Since you do your best to protect him, then you should bear the twenty lashes for him."

This time, the face of both father and son was saved, and everyone was able to get off the stage.

The courtiers knelt down one after another, begging the emperor to forgive the King of Qin. Yang Hao looked at the kneeling court hall, feeling lost in his heart, his knees softened, and he also knelt down.

"You don't need to say too much, let the king of Qin be punished here," Yang Guang winked at Gao Ye, and the latter quickly summoned two guards.

Yang Ming took off his crown, took off his upper body robe, and knelt down to be punished.

Those two imperial guards were not fools either. The execution of punishments depends on the person. They beat the emperor's own son. No one dared to hit hard. Maybe one day they would retaliate and they would have to finish the game.

Of course, Yang Guang wouldn't let anyone hit him hard, what if he was beaten disabled?
He was angry because his own son was embarrassing him, but after thinking about it, he was indeed in a hurry. If he wanted to kill Gao Jiong, it seemed that he had to take his time.

Twenty whips were pulled down, and Yang Ming was lying on the ground, unable to move at all. He felt pain in his body when he moved his fingers.

This frankly hurts too much, no wonder Yang Yue was unable to go to court in order to avoid Yang Lihua's whip, and he didn't dare to let people know that his injury was healed.

Only by experiencing it personally can we understand Yang Yue's difficulties that day.

Or it could be said that Hu'er is a favored minister. Seeing this, he hurriedly took off his robe, covered Yang Ming's body, and begged on his knees:

"King Qin has already been punished, Your Majesty should quickly call the imperial physician."

Yang Guang also felt distressed, and waved his hand:

"Take it to the imperial medical office for treatment, let's go to court"

Empress Xiao, who heard the news, immediately ran to the Hall of Liangyi, crying,
"Okay, you might as well beat him to death, and then exile the second child and depose me."

Yang Guang said angrily: "What do you know? Your good son dared to keep me from stepping down at the court meeting. I just gave him twenty lashes as a small punishment. If I don't punish him now, he will get worse. More and more presumptuous."

"What's his crime?" Empress Xiao said hoarsely: "He just said a few words for Gao Jiong, if he can't say anything, then you should cut off his tongue."

"You" Yang Guang didn't bother to explain to her, in his eyes, the queen is a short-sighted woman, so he greeted the left and right:

"Go, go, invite the queen out."

No one dared to move, Gao Ye hurriedly lowered his head, as if he didn't hear.

"If you really want to break him, we mother and son will go to Zhongnan Mountain to find a secluded place to practice, so that you won't be an eyesore." After finishing speaking, Empress Xiao rushed to the Imperial Medical Office to visit her son angrily.

Yang Guang looked helpless, grabbed the inkstone and threw it on the ground, angrily said:

"Relying on the fact that your two sons are messing with me, there are more and more unruly things."

What he said was completely angry, the queen and him were young couples, and they didn't need to rely on anyone at all. In other words, Yang Guang was Empress Xiao's greatest support.

Now that the eldest son died of illness, Yang Guang also realized that his heirs were weak, but Empress Xiao did not plan to have another child, so Yang Guang also had the idea of ​​adding a son.

It is important to know who the next son comes from, Mrs. Xiurong Chen Kui, Mrs. Chongyi Chen Yu, and Jieyu Wang Zhuoling are all unacceptable.

Because the queen is not happy, the queen is not happy, and even the two sons will use their brains, so it can only be with the queen's maid, that is, Concubine Xiao.

Xiao Pin is the dowry daughter of Empress Xiao, a concubine's younger sister.

Historically, the third son of Yang Guang who died was Yang Ming, and the fourth son Yang Gao was the son of Concubine Xiao.

Yang Ming's help this time undoubtedly made Gao Jiong owe him a huge favor. After Su Wei came to court, after thinking about this point, he felt that King Qin's scheming was too deep, just like Emperor Gaozu's.

A long time ago, Yang Ming knew that something would happen to Gao Jiong after Yang Su died, so he discussed with Yang Lihua early on, hoping that the other party could help to save him in the future.

But today, the situation was urgent, and Yang Lihua didn't know about it at all, so Yang Ming could only bite the bullet and insist.

He also knew it was wrong to do so, but there was no way, the situation was compelling.

After getting the news, Yang Lihua also rushed into the palace.

She is the one who knows Gao Jiong the best, and she also knows that Gao Jiong is really contributing to the Yang family. It can be said that he is loyal and has made outstanding contributions.

Such a person can't be moved, even if he doesn't need it, let him live for the rest of his life, otherwise who else will be loyal to their Yang family?

"What are you thinking? Dugu is our retainer, he is old, how can he stand the whip?" Yang Lihua said displeased.

Yang Guang closed the file, and said in a deep voice: "He only has father and queen in his heart, and he has never put me in his eyes. I dismissed his official, but he is still dictating my national policy in private. You say I can forgive you him?"

"He's too straightforward, but you can't punish him like this because of his loyalty," Yang Lihua retorted.

Yang Guang waved his hand impatiently: "If sister comes to scold me, please go back."

"You..." Yang Lihua froze in place with a look of astonishment.

(End of this chapter)