Emperor Sui Yang

As for the reform of local administration, it is complicated. The three-level system of state, county, and county is changed to the two-level system of counties and counties. It will take a lot of effort to change the name of the county from the original state.

In other words, there will be no post of state governor in the future, and all will be county prefects.

Yang Ming has been busy with these things these days. Restructuring this kind of thing sounds simple, but it is very complicated to do.

To use a random analogy, if the state is changed to a county, then all your original documents and seals must be changed, and the entire establishment of the yamen must also be changed?Business is very complicated and messy.

The change from three levels to two levels is also for the purpose of centralizing imperial power and facilitating local management. As for the state level, in fact, it has been deliberately downplaying the scope of its jurisdiction since Yang Jian's time. Now it is a matter of course and there will be no resistance.

When Yang Guang left Luoyang, Yang Wei stayed and was awarded the Tokyo garrison, with each of his two sons in charge of one. Yang Guang went down to the south of the Yangtze River in style.

The Tongji Canal has been opened, and Yang Yue was awarded Doctor You Guanglu for his meritorious service, which is the fourth rank in the honor.

On July [-]th, it was time for the Sui Dynasty to offer sacrifices to the ancestral temple, but Yang Guang went to the south to be cool and could not come back, so this task was handed over to Yang Yue, who would perform the sacrifice on his behalf.

In fact, July [-]th is also the day when all the people of the Sui Dynasty worship their ancestors. Taoism calls it the Zhongyuan Festival, and Buddhism calls it the Yulan Basin Festival.

In the Sui Dynasty, it was called the July and a half Ancestor Worship Festival.

To worship the ancestors, it must be in Daxing, Luoyang can't worship the ancestors of the Yang family.

So at the beginning of July, Yang Yue came back, but on the way back, he did something and was reported to Yang Ming by the people from Yushitai.

Or the people at Yushitai are just a bunch of snitches. The key point is that Yang Ming can't control it, because these people are the emperor's spies. They are not as exaggerated as the East Factory and the West Factory, but they are similar in nature.

When passing by Huayin, Yang Yue went to cry for Yang Su's grave, and then Yu Shitai told him that instead of offering sacrifices to His Majesty's ancestors, he first offered sacrifices to their family's ancestors.

Actually, isn't this a very common thing?Passing by my ancestral grave, and it's the time of Zhongyuan, what's the matter with paying homage?
Yang Yue also fell into bad luck, and those bastards at Yushitai also blamed Yang Guang.

Now Yang Yue is in a hurry,

"Based on what I know about His Majesty, I'm afraid I won't be able to escape the crime this time,"

In Prince Qin's Mansion, when Yang Yue, who was full of joy, learned the news from Yang Ming, he paced back and forth anxiously in the hall:
"These bastards with long tongues, do they care if I worship my ancestors?"

Based on Yang Ming's understanding of his father, I'm afraid Yang Yue really won't be able to hide this time. Yu Shitai is not a fool, and he doesn't sue all kinds of complaints. If someone dares to sue, there must be a tenable reason.

The emperor asked you to sacrifice to the ancestor of the Yang family, but not your Yang. You represent the emperor now, but you go to cry for Yang Su's grave. What do you mean?
Yang Guang cried for Yang Su's grave?
In the emperor's place, some rules can be changed, and some rules can't.

"Uncle, don't worry, we need to think of a way to deal with it as soon as possible," Yang Yinjiang didn't think of any way these days, because Yushitai's memorial was sent out before her husband Yang Ming was informed.

Yang Ming couldn't stop him even if he wanted to.

But Yang Yue and Yang Ming absolutely wanted to protect him. Once Yang Su died, Yang Yue was now Yang Ming's number one military advisor. With Yang Yue under his pressure, Yang Xuangan would not rebel. The relationship between the uncle and nephew was very deep.

"Father should be on the way to Jiangdu. His first receipt will definitely not be an indictment. Instead, he will ask me about the situation first. After the matter is confirmed, it will be an indictment. It will take a month at the earliest before I receive the inquiry. letterhead," Yang Ming said calmly, "Then we need to finish this matter within a month."

Yang Yue said with a mournful face: "How can I get it done? Could it be that you still dare to deceive the king?"

"It's not impossible at the very moment," Yang Ming said lightly.

Yang Yue and Yang Yinjiang were taken aback at the same time, and after looking at each other, they refused in unison.

"No, you must not be implicated in this matter. The crime of deceiving the emperor is extraordinary. You must not have this idea," Yang Yue said: "Actually, it's okay. .”

Yang Yinjiang also hurriedly persuaded her husband: "My husband is the backbone, you can't get involved in anything. For you, no matter how big our losses are, it's worth it. Don't do stupid things."

Yang Ming shook his head and said with a smile: "First of all, we need to understand that the responsibility of the Yushitai is to play by rumors. Sometimes they don't know if it's true or not. As long as we kill Yang Yue and Yang Yue doesn't go, we will make proper arrangements later. It’s actually not a problem.”

Yang Yue was taken aback, sat down opposite Yang Ming, and asked, "How do you arrange it?"

"Isn't Xuan Zong in Beijing? He has the most similar figure to yours, and he also has a beard. Let's say that the one who worshiped the ancestors is Xuan Zong," Yang Ming said, "Your people came in from the Chunming Gate in the east of the capital. Right now, the Chunming Gate is guarded by Li Jing's right guard, and the entry and exit records are managed by Yang Yue of Wannian County, don't you know what to do?"

After hearing this, Yang Yue fell into deep thought. This method is absolutely feasible, because when he returns to Beijing, he will be surrounded by his own songs, and there is no problem with his loyalty, and no one will leak it.

You Wuwei and Wannian County, who were on duty at the Chunming Gate, were also absolutely reliable, so it was very easy to change the records. Besides, he came in a carriage, and no one saw that it was him.

But after thinking about it, Yang Yue still didn't want Yang Ming to take this risk. After all, Yushitai had a lot of scouts in the capital, and it was impossible for someone to actually see him.

"I still don't think it's right, forget it, it's too risky," Yang Yue said inclined to give up.

Yang Ming smiled and said, "Aren't you always quite courageous? Why are you so timid this time?"

"Oh, Your Majesty today, you can't rub sand in your eyes, and you won't live long if you are not timid," Yang Yue sighed.

Yang Yinjiang was also a little unhappy. In her opinion, it would be better for her uncle to be convicted than to let her husband take a little risk.
"It's okay, I'll take care of the Yushitai side, you just have to do it," Yang Ming said with a smile, "Don't worry, a gentleman doesn't stand under a dangerous wall. If the risk is too high, I won't take the risk." , you can do it with peace of mind."

Yang Yue said with a smile: "You are comforting me. I know the risk is not small, but I never thought that you would do this for me."

"Just think of me as buying your heart," Yang Ming said with a smile.

Yang Yinjiang smiled helplessly. He knew that the two were joking, so did he still have to buy it?Everyone is already their own.

The four officials with the highest rank in Yushitai staying in Beijing are Huang Fenglin, Chen Xiaoyi, Pei Ji, and You Yuan.

Among them, Huang Fenglin, since the year before last, has come to Qin Palace to give gifts every year during festivals. The gifts were received, but he was not allowed in.

This person, thanks to Yang Ming's proposal to select a scholar in ten subjects, successfully won the Jinshi in the first year of Daye. In just two years, because he was tactful and capable, he was promoted to Yushitai Serve the censor.

The reason why he gave Yang Ming a gift was because this person's hometown was in Jiangxia County, and he was still a relative with the Shen family in Jiangling. He knew that the Shen family gave gifts to Yang Ming every year, so he started to give gifts too.

But Yang Ming didn't let him enter the mansion, because the people in Yushitai couldn't get involved with any big bosses, and there was only one sky above their heads, and that was the emperor.

This is a taboo, Yang Ming will never associate with anyone at Yushitai.

But Huang Fenglin has great ambitions, he is not willing to be just a censor, so as long as he leaves the censor, he must have a big tree to rely on, and he has a special vision, and he has determined that King Qin is the best candidate for the position of prince.

So gift-giving is also a kind of investment, but it is too impatient, which is a common problem of all poor families, because it is really not easy for them to climb up, but it is very easy to get down, and once they get down, it is impossible to get up again.

Up and down is the prerogative of the Guanlong Group.

Huang Fenglin's house in the capital is not big, because he has no money, and Yushitai has a lot of money, but he dare not be greedy, because the price of making mistakes is a lifetime.

That night, late at night in Choushi, Yang Ming only brought fifty bodyguards in plain clothes, under the cover of Commander Li Jing's You Wuwei, to Huang Fenglin's house.

After the door was opened, the old butler was directly controlled by the guards of the palace. Afterwards, Chen Kui and Su Lie led the way and broke into Huang Fenglin's bedroom.

Huang Fenglin almost peed in fright.

"Who are you?" Huang Fenglin hugged his wife and huddled in the corner of the bed. He didn't get out of bed until he saw the man in the black cloak take off his hood, and knelt down on the ground:
"Isn't it inconvenient for the minister to be commensurate with his position with the nobleman's outfit today?"

"Smart!" Yang Ming waved his hand, signaling Chen Kui and Su Lie to take Huang Fenglin's wife out.

After that, only Yang Ming and the others were left in the room.

After Yang Ming sat down, he said calmly, "The four censors who stayed in the capital at Yushitai, I was the first to look for you. If you satisfy me, then I won't look for anyone else."

Huang Fenglin was inexplicably excited, and hurriedly said: "Don't worry, my lord, I will not let you down."

Once disappointed, there will be no next chance. Huang Fenglin suddenly felt that his hard work in the past two years was about to see the fruits of harvest.

If he can get close to King Qin, he will have a chance to show his ambitions.

The reason why Yang Ming chose him was because Huang Fenglin didn't have a backer, so he could use him with confidence.

"Yesterday, Yushitai reported that Yang Yue worshiped his ancestors in Huayin County, and was still crying in front of the tomb of the Duke of Chu. Who found out?"

So this is the thing?Huang Fenglin hurriedly said: "Returning to the nobleman, Pei Ji's subordinates found out. He also went to Huayin County in person. He did hear from the villagers that Yang Zhongshu's motorcade was diverted to worship the ancestors."

Yang Ming said: "I asked Yang Yue, it was not he who worshiped the ancestor that day, but Huainan Gong Xuanzong, what do you think the truth should be?"

"If it's Duke Huainan, it's reasonable," Huang Fenglin thought quickly.

Yang Ming was stunned: "Why?"

Huang Fenglin said seriously: "Worshiping ancestors is a major event. Yang Zhongshu returned to Beijing in Luoyang. He had no preparations in advance. How could he rush to worship ancestors? Yang Zhongshu and Duke Chu (Yang Xuangan) are not in Beijing. Duke Huainan is the second son. Naturally, it is reasonable to preside over the sacrifice. .”

There is an order of who presides over the ancestor worship in the Sui Dynasty. The first choice is the eldest grandson of the direct line. Yang Su is the head of this line. If he dies, he will be presided over by Xuangan. , Yang Yue was not suitable, so Yang Yue worshiped the ancestors alone, not with the family, because on the day of the real ancestor worship, he had to worship Yang Ming's ancestors.

Yang Ming smiled and said, "So, Pei Ji's people got it wrong?"

"It's probably a mistake." Huang Fenglin was expressionless when he lied, and his psychological quality was extremely strong.

This person is available, Yang Ming nodded: "The matter will eventually need to be investigated. His Majesty will definitely ask about the situation in the future. I will leave this matter to you. Can you handle it well?"

Huang Fenglin said: "My lord, let me tell you. When this matter first came out, there was also a discussion at Yushitai. At that time, I strongly advocated that the nobleman should know about it first, and then send it to Luoyang. However, people speak lightly, and their words have no weight."

This was an active show of favor. Everyone knew about the relationship between Yang Ming and Yang Yue, and Huang Fenglin certainly knew about it, so he did suggest that at the time, but the reason for the other three was: Yushitai was only responsible for His Majesty, not King Qin.

Yang Ming said with a smile: "Although I can't control Yushitai, I can manage you. When you do this matter, whoever obstructs you, you tell me."

"I understand," Huang Fenglin said hastily.

Yang Ming stood up and said, "Don't spread the matter about my meeting with you today. Your mind is spinning quickly. You should know how to deal with your wife later, right?"

"I will never spread it to the outside world. Don't worry, my lord, she is not my wife, but a concubine," Huang Fenglin said.

Yang Ming nodded: "No wonder you are so young."

After finishing speaking, Yang Ming put on his hood again and led the people away.

Did he really only go to see Huang Fenglin alone?How can it be.

Of the four censors, at least two of them are willing to reverse the case, so this matter will be safe, so Yang Ming immediately went to see a loyal and upright minister, Chen Xiaoyi.

The original intention of the establishment of Yushitai was to recruit people like Chen Xiaoyi, who would not give face to anyone but be loyal to the emperor.

It stands to reason that this test should be difficult for Yang Ming, but loyal ministers also have a shortcoming, that is, emphasizing benevolence, righteousness and morality. In officialdom, emphasizing benevolence, righteousness and morality is a shortcoming, just like someone in later generations said you are an honest person.

Chen Xiaoyi also entered the official career through ten subjects, but he did not pass the Jinshi test, so the test was not for the Jinshi subject, but for "strong perseverance and integrity" in the ten subjects. , named Fang Xuanling.

Fang Xuanling was in Hedong, relying on himself to represent Qin Wangfu, he insisted on snatching a seat from Hedong County, which is full of rich clans.

But it's inappropriate for Yang Ming to use Fang Xuanling to persuade the other party, because Chen Xiaoyi is a person who accepts death and doesn't show affection, unless you convince him with reason.

Although he and Fang Xuanling had a good personal relationship, Chen Xiaoyi was very clear about public opinion and private opinion.

Yang Ming also likes this kind of person.