Emperor Sui Yang

The news about Jiangdu finally reached the capital. Du Fuwei captured Liuhe County and brought the rebel Zhao Pozhen from Haining County under his command. His power suddenly increased greatly, and he was known to the outside world as a hundred thousand troops. The exact number was unknown, but there was no one in Jiangdu. Accurate news.

Zhang Heng, the prefect of Jiangdu, urgently recruited troops and sent Lieutenant Song Hao of the Huqi Prefecture to lead two thousand troops out of the city to attack the thieves.

"How can we suppress thieves in such a huge Jiangdu and we can't even send out five thousand soldiers and horses?" Yang Gongren sighed sadly.

Cui Zhongfang shook his head and sighed: "If the soldiers in Jiangnan are easy to recruit, they will not recruit troops. Now the [-] Xiaoguo Army has probably set off from Zhuojun, and there are no troops stationed in Jiangdu."

Mingya, the Minister of War, said: "Jiangdu is a strong city and should not be broken. The rebels will inevitably continue to move south. Then there will be problems in Danyang and Liyang. Xiao Xuan, the prefect of Danyang, is General Ying Yanglang and has already gone out with the army. Zhao Yuankai, the prefect of Liyang, It’s not of much use.”

"Not worth much use," Teng Wang Yanglun sneered: "Since you know that he is not worth much use, why use him?"

Cui Junsu, the Ministry of Personnel, explained: "Zhao Yuankai was born in the Zhao family of Tianshui. His father was Zhao Fen, the Duke of Huai'an County, Zuopushe, the minister in the early years of the founding of the Emperor. Zhao Fen's eldest son, Zhao Yuanke, was formerly the Sima of His Majesty's Yangzhou, and is now the governor of Jiangdu. Zhao Yuankai is Second son."

Tongshou is the assistant officer of the prefect, the second-in-command in a county. Some places have them, but some places don't.

Yang Lun was unable to refute. Are you from His Majesty?That’s okay, so he changed the subject and said:

"Then who is Danyang Tongshou?"

Cui Junsu said: "Danyang County does not have a general guard. Now the affairs are handled by Yuan Ren, the governor of Lujiang in Linjun."

"After all, are these two places so messy?" Yang Lun suddenly frowned.

Su Wei glanced at the other party and said to Yang Ming:
"I also believe that most of the rebels will go south, so we should order Danyang and Liyang counties to prepare early."

"Where the order from the imperial court has been passed, I'm afraid Du Fuwei has already been defeated," Yang Ming said hoarsely: "The order was sent to Jiangling County Prime Minister Shen Lun and Xiangyang Hussar General Zhou Zhongmu to send troops from Jingzhou, along the river, to Jiangnan Ping Rebel."

The Xiangyang Navy finally came in handy.

At this time, a guard came in from outside the door, and the Ministry of War received a report that Poyang native Cao Shiqi had led his troops to capture Yuzhang County, and his general Lin Shihong had led his army to Poyang County.

Yuzhang County is in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, and Poyang County is on the edge of Poyang Lake, in Shangrao City, Jiangxi Province.

There is also a report that Zhang Xutuo defended Qi County, defeated the rebel Zuo Caixiang, and beheaded him. The remaining rebels were taken in by Li Zitong and fled south. This was good news, but then there was bad news. In Jinling County, southeast of Jiangdu, a rebel named Guan Chong also emerged. He attacked the military mansion at night, seized a large amount of equipment, and gathered more than [-] people to attack the capital Jinling County.

Su Wei clenched his fists fiercely, stood up and said: "Your Majesty should be reported immediately. At present, all directions are rebelling. The northern expedition must be stopped immediately and the army should be sent south to quell the rebellion."

"Please send me a report from your province," Yang Ming said to Wei Zhen.

Today's court meeting did not disperse until noon. Su Wei did not leave, but stayed to persuade:
"Ten years of accumulated malpractice, once it broke out, it has become a prairie fire. If the army does not return south, the country will lose its generals. Your Highness, you'd better speak more sincerely and ask your Majesty to withdraw the troops."

Since Yang Guang succeeded to the throne, he has been causing trouble. Normally, Yang Ming would wipe his butt, and he could barely survive until now. Now, this butt is not easy to wipe, and Yang Ming cannot wipe it either. Just like Su Wei said that in the past ten years, people's dissatisfaction with the imperial court has reached a critical point, and now it has exploded.

The army returning south will undoubtedly solve this problem, but will Yang Guang be willing to give up halfway?
Yang Ming nodded: "I will petition you. There is no need to be too anxious, Mr. Su. Things have already happened, and we still need to face it calmly."

Su Wei has been in a high position for 30 years, and the city has long been trained to be calm. Now even he is anxious. Such a large-scale rebellion would have been unthinkable last year.

After Su Wei left, Yang Ming left the palace. He was going to see someone who was pretending to be sick at home.

"A rare visitor, I didn't expect the prince to come here," Cai Wang Yang Zhiji, who was still holding a string of Buddhist beads in his hand, welcomed Yang Ming into the palace without any signs of illness.

He didn't tell lies in front of real people, so he didn't have to pretend to Yang Ming.

"You should have no desire to uphold the true state. I would like to become a monk when you have free time. My uncle is so free." Yang Ming smiled and walked into the palace filled with incense.

Yang Zhiji laughed: "The world's sentiments have faded away, and it's hard to compete with luck in the end. Is the prince in a good mood?"

Yang Ming smiled and said as he walked: "You, old man, Idle Cloud Yehe, don't care about court affairs, the burden is all on your nephew, this junior, I can't bear it."

(This paragraph is borrowed from the TV series "Towards a Republic", where Li Hongzhang meets Prince Gong Yixin. I hope it is not plagiarized.)
Yang Zhiji was Yang Guang's cousin, just two years older than Yang Guang. He raised his hand to invite Yang Ming into the backyard garden and said with a smile:

"I'm getting old, so it's time to hand it over to young people. Yang Lun and Yang Ji are under the care of His Highness, and things are going well now. Young people have energy, so let's leave it to them."

"You are only two years older than my father, how can you become an old man?" Yang Ming smiled and sat down on the stone bench in the backyard.

Yang Zhiji made tea for Yang Ming and said: "I am 48 years old. I am not as strong as your Majesty, the dragon, the god, and the horse."

Yang Ming paused, took out a piece of origami paper from his sleeve, and handed it to Yang Zhiji. After reading it, the latter sat down next to Yang Ming and sighed:
"It's expected. In fact, if the prince hadn't been supervising the country for several years, these things would have happened a few years ago."

Yang Ming nodded: "Uncle, do you think that after reporting to the emperor, the old man will change his mind?"

"The prince already has the answer in his mind, why bother asking me?" Yang Zhiji said with a smile.Yang Ming shook his head and sighed bitterly: "The people are in chaos all over the place and it's hard to deal with it. I, the prisoner of the country, am in a mess."

"Your Highness is not at fault. You have done a good job. You should be happy that the two saints are alive in heaven," Yang Zhiji said.

Yang Ming said: "Uncle, it's better to return to the court. Without you, I have no backbone."

The leader of the clan is now nominally Yang Lun, but in fact, whoever controls the clan's hussars is the actual leader of the clan.

After Yang Shuang, Yang Jian intentionally let Yang Ming take over because he did not expect that his grandson would be the prince in the future. After all, Yang Zhao was still alive at that time.

Then Yang Zhiji took over. He was originally General Zuo Yulin, the predecessor of Zuo Beishen Mansion. Until now, most of the Imperial City Forbidden Army are Yang Zhiji's people, because most of them are descendants of the clan, and you can't replace them.

Yang Guang also had great trust in Yang Zhiji. After all, Yang Zhiji and Dou Kang were instrumental in rescuing the Renshou Palace incident, and they were cousins, so they could naturally be trusted.

The difference between a cousin and a cousin is huge. They have the same surname and ancestors.

Yang Zhiji smiled and said: "I won't go to the court meeting, but I have something to say to the prince."

"Uncle, please speak," Yang Ming said.

Yang Zhiji said in a low voice: "It is the king's order, and I will do my best to do it. But the king is the first, and the servants are the successors."

What he wanted was your words. Yang Ming's eyes lit up: "How can my nephew be so virtuous that he is so favored by his uncle?"

Yang Zhiji smiled and said, "The prince is wise."

It is very difficult for Yang Ming to move Yang Guang now. It can be said that he has his head tied to his waistband. The risk is very high. There is only one place to do it, and that is the palace. Apart from the palace, Yang Ming has no chance.

My father's people actually hold military power, but what about my own people?Incomparable.

So in the imperial city, the most powerful one is the Zongtuan Hussars. Because of the special nature of this team, when it is doing something, the left and right guards don't dare to stop it.

As long as Yang Guang can be controlled and Yang Ming obtains the Tiger Talisman and the Jade Seal, the coup will be considered a success.

After leaving Prince Cai's Mansion, Yang Ming immediately arranged for Liang Wang Yang Hao to return to the Zuotunwei camp, Li Jing to return to the Youwuwei, and Shi Wanbao to the Youhouwei. They were not allowed to leave without the prince's order.

In name, it is to prevent changes in Guanzhong, but in fact it is to control the army.

General Yang Xuanting led the left and right guards of the East Palace.

Then, next, we have to consider the capital garrison and the imperial guards stationed in the imperial city. Yang Ming needs to arrange his own people among them.

In the Xuanwu Gate, Yang Ming arranged for Zhou Zhongmo's son Zhou Qing to be the captain of the gate.

In the left and right prison gates, Yang Guang's two concubines, Yang Qing and Yang He, are both in the capital. They have been canonized as King Wen and King Ying. The relationship between these two people and Yang Ming is very unusual. They used to be in Yang Ming's Jingzhou Governor's Mansion. He has always believed in Yang Ming's words and is worth using.

So when Yang Ming invited the two of them to the East Palace, it was actually to get closer.

"My brother Zhongxian, my second brother King Qi, has a quarrel with me. Although I have tried my best to restore it over the years, it has not worked. It is a pity." Yang Ming said: "The two brothers are kind, what did the brother do wrong? I still need you to point it out.”

Yang Qing smiled and said: "What did the prince say? Without the prince, Yang He and I would have just stayed in the mansion, leisurely doing nothing. Your kindness, Yang He and I have always been in our hearts, but it's a pity that we don't have it." Opportunity to reciprocate.”

"Hey~~~" Yang Ming raised his hand and said: "How can brothers repay each other? I just hope that if I am in trouble in the future, my two brothers can help me."

"Why is the prince in trouble?" Yang He said with a smile: "But don't worry, except for the father, the emperor and the queen, we brothers will only listen to you."

The two of them used to have a hidden household registration in Prince Jin's Mansion, and they almost never called Queen Xiao mother, but now they are in the light, so they have to call her Queen Mother.

Yang Ming smiled and raised his glass: "As the saying goes, brothers fighting tigers, father and son are soldiers in battle. We brothers will be more close to each other in the future. Two brothers please."

Yang Qing and Yang He quickly raised their glasses.

The two of them are now separated, and they have become princes and have actual duties as prison generals. Because the two of them are the sons of the emperor, their superiors dare not assign them at will.

The two of them were assigned to the left and right prison gates. This was a very critical position, guarding the various gates and thoroughfares of the imperial city. If the city gates were closed, no matter how many troops outside could enter, they would not be able to enter.

Yang Ming must prepare for a rainy day. If his father does not step down, the chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty will completely spread.