Emperor Sui Yang

Chapter 430
During the Kaihuang period of the Great Sui Dynasty, Yang Jian set up Xingtai provinces in many places. Xingtai Shangshuling was basically his sons, and was later changed to the general manager.

Because Xingtai Province is completely a small imperial court, Yang Jian was not at ease when his son was appointed Minister of Xingtai, so he changed it to the General Manager's Mansion, and then lowered the rank of the officials of the General Manager's Mansion and lowered their authority.

If a general manager is set up in the Bashu area, it will be similar to the time of Yang Xiu, and one person will have the final say.

But if Xingtai Province is set up, the rights will be greatly diluted, because Shang Shuling is the prince, and the prince will not go to Bashu.

Xingtai's left and right shoots, plus the Xingtai's six ministers, will definitely be a few factions with distinct forces, and no one will take advantage of the other, so that it will be convenient for the court to manage.

So after the court meeting, Yang Ming gathered people in the East Palace to discuss the candidates for the officials of the Southwest Daoxingtai.

Feng Deyi took the lead and said: "The left and right servants need to be held by two people who have different political opinions, and at least two of the six ministers must be princes. Let's start with these two points, and it will be easy to choose."

That's why Yang Su valued Feng Deyi so much, and even married his cousin to him, because this person is really powerful.

Li Gangdao: "One more thing should be added. Among the left and right servants, there must be someone that His Majesty likes, and the position of Minister of Civil Affairs in Southwest Xingtai must also be valued by His Majesty."

To put it bluntly, Li Gang's suggestion is that among these few candidates, there must be someone who is the emperor, and he must be in charge of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, because the Ministry of Civil Affairs is in charge of collecting taxes.

The words were not as straightforward as they were said, but everyone understood that money must be watched by the emperor himself.

Yang Ming agrees:
"Li Gong's words are reasonable. Zuo Pushe is interested in Yang Gongren. After all, he is the Minister of the Ministry of Officials and the clan. There is no candidate with higher prestige than him. For the position of You Pushe, I thought of a very suitable candidate. Wang Shilong who replaced Xuan Ting as the General of the Right Standing Guard."

Wang Shilong was born in the Wang family of Taiyuan. During the reign of Emperor Kaihuang, he served as Yang Jian's guard general. Later, he prepared Yang Guang's body and was an absolute confidant.

This man's father, Wang Shao, belonged to the Northern Zhou Dynasty's elder sect, and assisted Yang Guang to destroy Chen in the south. When Yang Guang was serving as Minister of Bingzhou Xingtai, he was the right servant of Xingtai, and he was an elder whom Yang Guang respected very much.

Putting Wang Shilong, the emperor's absolute confidant, in the position of Right Servant, no one would object. The vacant position he left was to be taken over by Shi Wanbao. Yang Ming never arranged for Shi Wanbao, just waiting for the military to be vacant.

Yuan Wendu smiled and said: "Your Majesty authorized the crown prince to be in charge of the selection of officials. I think this is also a consideration. Your Majesty wants to see if the crown prince can properly arrange the Southwest Daoxingtai Province. Wang Shilong is undoubtedly in line with His Majesty's wishes. There is no need to discuss this candidate." gone."

Yang Ming nodded and said: "Then tentatively decide that the left servant of Xingtai will be Yang Gongren, and the right servant of Xingtai will be Wang Shilong. Then, please discuss the candidate for Minister of Civil Affairs."

Targeting Bashu this time is nominally to eradicate the long-standing abuses in Bashu over the years, so that Bashu can be like other places, with well-organized government orders and clear government affairs.

Therefore, the Shangshu of Xingtai Ministry of Civil Affairs must belong to Yang Guang. Yang Guang will keep a close eye on this position and not allow others to get involved.

After discussions came and went, everyone agreed on a candidate, the emperor's favorite minister, Pei Qiantong.

Pei Qiantong's current position is not high, and his prestige is not good, but it is still possible to be the secretary of the Xingtai Ministry of Civil Affairs. This official position sounds very high, but the grade is not high, and it is slightly higher than Yang Ming's time as the governor of Jingzhou. Hu Cao is a little bit taller.

There is a big difference between adding the word "Xingtai" and not adding Xingtai.

Then the next position will be easy to handle.

Yang Ming took Pei Xizai, the manager of Dianshufang, as the secretary of the Xingtai Ministry of Punishment in the Southwest Road, Yan Xiaotang's father Yan Baoshou was transferred to the Minister of Rites, Shi Wansui's eldest son Shi Huaiyi was transferred to the Minister of Xingtai Military Department, and Chen Xiaoyi from Yushitai was transferred to the Minister of the Ministry of Officials. The Ministry of Industry needs someone who understands engineering, so let Yuwen Kai's son Yuwen Rutong go.

This list can be roughly divided into three factions: the emperor faction, the prince faction, and the king-watching faction.

Among Yang Guang's people are Wang Shilong, Pei Qiantong, and Chen Xiaoyi.

The Prince's faction includes Pei Xizai and Shi Huaiyi.

Among the Yang Gongren and Yan Baoshou of the Guan Wang faction, Yan Baoshou is also half of Yang Ming's people.

Only Yuwen Rutong was left alone, and he was actually considered the emperor's faction.

These three factions are people whom the emperor can rest assured of. After all, this team is controlled by the old Yang family.

So after the list was presented to Yang Guang, Yang Guang did not change a single word, and announced his appointment in public at the court meeting the next day.

Yang Ming liked Chen Xiaoyi from Yushitai very much. He was loyal to the emperor, and he was also a direct minister who dared to advise, but he was not as full of words as Wei Zheng.

Yang Ming believes that Chen Xiaoyi's talent is completely superior to Wei Zheng's, but each has his own destiny. He served as the magistrate of Yanmen County in the late Sui Dynasty. Knock, and was later killed.

Who doesn't like such a loyal minister?
Chen Xiaoyi has long seen that the prince treats him differently from others and has the intention of showing favor, so when he heard about his appointment, he knew that the prince had recommended him, so he subconsciously looked at Yang Ming.

At this time, Yang Ming also looked at him, nodded encouragingly.

Yang Gongren is about to step down as Minister of the Ministry of Officials. This position is extremely important. Yang Guang couldn't think of a suitable candidate for a while, so he asked Tai Changqing to concurrently serve as Minister of the Ministry of Officials.

Holding three positions, Niu Hong's power has already approached that of Su Wei and Pei Ju.

That is to say, at today's court meeting, Gao Yan resigned.

Yang Guang's expression at that time was very astonished, and he couldn't recover for a long time.

Gao Yan asked to resign, and naturally a group of big bosses tried to persuade him to stay, but most of them were just a matter of appearances. I sincerely hope that Gao Yan will stay, and Yang Ming is probably the only one.

"The minister is too old to take care of his duties. He is sick and unable to do anything. He has failed His Majesty's entrustment. Please resign and return to your hometown."

Yang Guang just felt stunned, especially remembering the scene when he was reprimanded by Gao Xun when he was a teenager. This person is a hero of their family. Although Yang Guang has always disliked him, it cannot be denied that Yang Guang sincerely respects Gao Xun. Yes, it is different from Yang Su's emptiness and obscurity.

After a long while, Yang Guang revealed his rare true feelings and sighed:
"I remember that when I was young, the Holy Empress told an interesting story. She said that there was a willow tree in Dugu's house. It was a hundred feet high, and the pavilion was like a cover. Everyone in the village said that this house must be a noble person. Looking at it now, this statement is true. My darling. Duke Dugu was acquired in the Sui Dynasty, just like the Grand Duke was acquired in Zhou Dynasty, and Guan Zhong was acquired in Qi Dynasty. Although I have the intention to keep him, I can't bear to take away the joy of caring for the rest of my life."

Standing in the hall, Gao Yan was in tears.

The place under his feet, where he has stood for nearly 30 years, has gone through countless intrigues and intrigues, and now he is finally free.

"Your Majesty, please restore the Dugu Duke's title to show His Majesty's favor," Yang Ming knelt down directly.

Yang Guang did not hesitate this time:
"Dugu made public the achievements of the country, as it should be. From now on, repeat the Duke of Qi. After a hundred years, his son will be allowed to inherit the title and enjoy the emperor's court."

It is equivalent to enjoying the Taimiao, the tablet will be enshrined in Yang Jian's temple, enjoy royal sacrifices, and also give Gao Shengdao hereditary qualifications, this is really Yang Guang's rare kindness.

Gao Yan was taken aback for a moment, then looked up at Yang Guang.

Yang Guang nodded at him and said, "Mr. Dugu can bear it."

This may be the only time that Gao Bin expressed his sincere gratitude to Yang Guang, and it was also the only time Yang Guang showed his true feelings to Gao Bin.

After the court meeting was over, everyone gathered around Gao Bin and said some farewell words. After all, many people here have worked with Gao Bin for half their lives, and their friendship is still very deep.

Some of the younger generation directly regarded Gao Yan as an idol.

The Sui Dynasty paid attention to returning fallen leaves to their roots. Although Gao Yan and his family followed Dugu Xin in the early years and ran around half the world, they still had to go back to their hometown in the last days of their lives.

Gao Jin's hometown is in Jixian County, Bohai County, which is also Jingxian County, Hebei Province.

In the afternoon of that day, Yang Ming went to Gao Lin's mansion to say goodbye for the last time.

Gao Xing was in a good mood, and poured tea for Yang Ming: "I'm farewell now, and I'm afraid we won't see each other again indefinitely. The old man can retire safely and return to his hometown, thanks to the protection of the prince. I dare not forget this kindness. I only hope that my children and grandchildren can repay it."

Gao Yan also knew in his heart that he did not die in Yang Guang's hands, it was all due to Yang Ming's cover and constant persuasion, otherwise he would have been reduced to a commoner and given to death, how could he be treated like today.

Yang Ming sighed: "Mr. Dugu has been away from his hometown for a long time, why should he return home now?"

What he meant was, wouldn't it be good to leave after you die?Do you have to go back alive and wait to die?

Gao Yan said with a smile: "Once a person gets old, he only cares about the plants and trees of his hometown, and the bricks and tiles of the old house. I can still walk now. I want to go back and have a look. Your Majesty will sooner or later." To use troops against Goguryeo, I will collect border information for the prince in my homeland, so that I can succeed in one fell swoop in the future."

As the current No.1 of the Bohai Gao family, Gao Yan's prestige in Hebei is very high, and the three major families have to give face.

He is no longer in the center, but there is still a Duke of Qi on his head, and he still has the lofty prestige accumulated in the past 30 years.

He was the number one official in power during the Kaihuang period of the Sui Dynasty, and he was the first to make great contributions to the founding of the country. If the emperor did not punish him, no one would dare to provoke him.

Yang Ming nodded: "Mr. Dugu cherishes you all the way, and I hope we can see each other again."

Gao Yan said with a smile: "The old man will not say goodbye to His Highness before leaving. From now on, we will be separated by two places and send each other thoughts."

Not long after, Yang Ming got up to say goodbye.

And Gao Yan will go to see Yang Lihua next, which can barely be regarded as a farewell between master and servant, but this time, Yang Lihua did not regard himself as the master, but sent Gao Xuan out of the mansion in person with the gift of a junior. outside.

Looking at the originally tall but now slightly stooped figure, Yang Lihua covered her sleeves and wept.

Five days later, countless officials and civilians took the initiative to leave the city to see Gao Xian off at Chang'an Station, and Yang Lihua was also present.

Five carriages and dozens of entourages, this is Gao Lin's last luggage.

The young and old left home, and the old man returned. The wanderer who had been away from his hometown for more than 60 years, embarked on the road to return home. The achievements of Gao Yan's life will not be obliterated by any history books, and he is destined to go down in history.

The two important ministers of Yang Jian's era, Gao Yan and Yang Su, came to an end.

Gao Yan also drew the final end to the rule of Kaihuang
(End of this chapter)