Chu Sui's conscience was clouded. If King Jin finally won the throne, he might still have some room for change. He could express his loyalty and surrender to King Jin and make "remarkable" achievements, and he might survive.
But once King Jin is defeated, he will either die in battle with King Jin, or be captured and suffer the pain of Ling Chi...
So emotionally speaking, although he was coerced by King Jin, he also wanted King Jin to win.
But now even the mainstays like Xiao Yu have their own thoughts and are starting to reserve backup options. How can they expect the likes of Yu Chigong to fight to the end for the King of Jin?
Xiao Yu put away the "Charming Form" and asked Chu Suiliang to sit down again. Seeing that it was already noon, he asked someone to prepare lunch: "It's noon, Dengshan will have dinner with me and have two drinks."
Chu Suiliang was restless and wanted to ask something, so he agreed.
After a while, a few simple dishes were brought, two bowls of rice and a pot of fine wine.
Watching Chu Suiliang pouring wine, Xiao Yu sighed: "Although my life has been full of ups and downs, I have never been harsh in life. Now I follow His Highness the King of Jin to pursue a great career, but I have to respect Yasheng's motto. In fact, It’s sad.”
As descendants of the Nanliang royal family, even after the fall of the country, most of the direct descendants of the family migrated to Daxing City. However, because of Queen Xiao's presence, the children of the Xiao family not only did not suffer the same humiliation and mistreatment as the slaves of the subjugated country, but they were well clothed and well fed, and lived a luxurious life. After the fall of the Sui Dynasty, he entered the Tang Dynasty and gained the trust and respect of Emperor Gaozu, which restored his family reputation.
The servants of the Xiao family used to eat such simple and simple dishes as this, which were more luxurious...
As for the motto of Ya Sheng, when it comes to the current simple meals, it is naturally "the body and skin are hungry, and the body is empty"...
Chu Suiliang poured the wine, raised his glass, touched it with Xiao Yu, took a sip, and then asked: "The Duke of Song seems not to be optimistic about the future of King Jin?"
"What's the point of that?"
Xiao Yu took a bite of the dish and shook his head in denial: "If I didn't think highly of King Jin, how could I escape from the Taiji Palace and raise troops together with King Jin to pursue a great cause? The reason why I left such a love letter ', it's just a matter of preparing for a rainy day and being prepared for any eventuality."
Chu Suiliang didn't think so now. He believed that the reason why Xiao Yu supported the King of Jin without hesitation was because the prince's policy towards the aristocratic families continued the late emperor's policy, which was a huge blow to the aristocratic families and was not accepted by the families.
So he changed his approach and asked: "Since the birth of the aristocratic family, it has reached its peak today. It is almost impossible to make any progress. As the saying goes, when the water is full, it will overflow, and when the moon is full, it will lose. It is an indisputable fact that the clan has declined. According to the opinion of Song Guogong, will the imperial examination be the coffin for burying clan politics?"
Theoretically speaking, the imperial examination system, which does not look at identity or background, but only looks at performance papers, has blocked the biggest advantage of children from aristocratic families, making students from poor families stand on the same starting line as children from aristocratic families.
When a powerful family cannot monopolize the way to become an official, it will naturally be the beginning of its demise.
This is almost the consensus of the current family members, so they are extremely resistant to the prince's national policy of extremely weakening the family members. His Majesty Li Er also implemented this policy before. Although the family members were dissatisfied, they were afraid of His Majesty Li Er's prestige and dared not speak out. Now Li Er When His Majesty passes away, it is natural that a group of people will rebel to express their dissatisfaction.
Many aristocrats may not be determined to support King Jin and oppose the prince until now. In fact, they just want to put pressure on the prince by supporting King Jin. If the prince changes his tune now, many people will immediately give up on King Jin and switch to the prince.
camp.
The so-called edict is probably just an excuse for many aristocratic families. After all, it is the prince who is in charge of Chang'an City now. No one really wants to see the two princes fighting for the throne and smashing the empire to pieces...
Xiao Yu took a sip of wine, thought for a while, shook his head and said, "I don't know about this either. Logically speaking, the imperial examination system will indeed have a huge impact on aristocratic families. Children of aristocratic families cannot be recommended to become officials. This
Wouldn't it be to cut off the foundation of the clan? But in my opinion, at least in the short term, it may not have much impact. It should be noted that the reason why our clans settle down is the investment and foundation in education. Our ancestors have been studying and studying history for hundreds of years.
How can the classics and meanings be surpassed by ordinary Guizhou people who have studied hard for ten years? They even have to borrow a book from us! The "Datang Cultural Revitalization" led by His Highness the King of Wei has indeed invested in extremely low-cost books
In every state and county in the world, how many of the leaders of Guizhou realize the benefits of studying, how many are willing to study, and how many can afford to study?"
Generations of aristocratic families have invested countless money and efforts in monopolizing education. The children of the aristocratic families have good educational background and favorable conditions. They are taught by famous teachers when they are enlightened. They can also receive teachings from famous scholars when they go out to study. How can this be the common people in Guizhou?
Can you surpass it after studying for ten years?
Of course, the threat of the imperial examination system to clan politics has reached its roots. Although in the short term, the children of aristocratic families will still dominate, in the long run, the people's wisdom will gradually increase, which will inevitably shake the foundation of clan rule.
That’s why there are so many nobles who don’t care about the authenticity of the so-called “edict” in the hands of King Jin, but still want to support it...
The two were talking, and suddenly they heard a commotion outside the house, with people shouting and horses neighing. Xiao Yu quickly called the servant in and asked, "What happened outside, so noisy?"
The servant entered, looking a little excited, and said: "Master, I heard that Duke Tianshui led his three thousand elite men to join His Highness the King of Jin!"
Xiao Yu was stunned for a moment, then realized who the "Tianshui County Duke" was, Qiu Xinggong...
However, after the tragic death of his son Qiu Shenji, Qiu Xinggong and Fang Jun were enemies of life and death. They wanted revenge but were suppressed continuously. He first betrayed Gao Shilian and joined Changsun Wuji, and was later abandoned by Changsun Wuji. He was in extreme despair and had almost no life in recent years.
According to the news, Xiao Yu thought this man was already dead.
But no matter how depressed he was, Qiu Xinggong was still one of the fierce generals that the late emperor relied on during his lifetime. Now that he has led his army to surrender, it will definitely increase the reputation of the Jin king. Moreover, the Shandong private army has arrived in Henan and is about to cross the river. It can be said that the situation is excellent.
It seems that forcing Chu Suiliang to write a "Chen Qing Sheo" is somewhat unnecessary...
*****
In Chang'an City, the British Government Palace.
It was a clear day with no wind and warm sunshine. Li Ji looked at Cheng Yaojin who came uninvited in front of him in his study and was quite speechless.
At this time, all parties are extremely sensitive, and the slightest disturbance may lead to extremely violent consequences. However, Cheng Yaojin, as the general in charge of guarding Chang'an, had to go to him, the leader of the prime ministers and the number one person in the military.
Come to the mansion, do you think the situation is not chaotic enough?
Cheng Yaojin ignored Li Ji's dissatisfied look and said with a hey, "I can't care about that much anymore. I just want to ask you, what should I do?"
Li Ji stopped looking at him, drank tea slowly, and said casually: "What do you do, what does it have to do with me?"
Cheng Yaojin glared: "As you said, I have always obeyed your advice. Now the situation is chaotic. Who wins and who loses, who is right and who is wrong has become chaotic. After all, we have been friends of life and death for so many years, so you have to give me some guidance!"
"Ah!"
Li Ji sneered and asked: "The late emperor gave you the task of guarding Chang'an. You don't know the scope of your duties, right? Since you allow the Youhou Wei and the Sixth Army of the East Palace to enter and leave Chang'an at will, you huddle around the West City and sit still. Looking at the success or failure, it is obvious that the idea is very good, so why should you ask me for advice? I am not very talented and knowledgeable, and my thinking is stagnant, so I really don't dare to do it."
It is said that Cheng Yaojin is a rough and arrogant foreign minister, but in fact he is very resourceful. This is true in his opinion, but the problem is that this guy has too clear mind and calculations, but he often cares too much about success and failure and is too rational.
His Majesty Li Er once praised him as "loyal", but Li Jipo disagreed.
It is true that this guy will not rebel, but does he mean that he is a loyal minister if he never rebels?
The word "loyalty" is sometimes difficult to define...
Cheng Yaojin was retorted and his old face was slightly red. However, he had always been dark and thick-skinned, and it didn't show that at the moment. He said with a stern face: "There was indeed a lack of consideration before. Isn't this because you refused to give me advice? Can you just think about it by yourself? The situation is not very good now. I have trouble sleeping and eating, and I am frightened. We have been friends for so many years, and you can’t watch the whole Cheng family being pushed to the West Market and beheaded in public, right? "
"Mom!"
Even with Li Ji's magnanimity, he couldn't help but curse his mother in anger at this moment, saying angrily: "You bastard, sit back and watch the success or failure, and make small calculations in your heart, but it becomes my fault? It's simply ridiculous!"
In any case, it is impossible for the whole family to be beheaded as Cheng Yaojin said. This old thief is just worried about his own interests being damaged.
I used to think that the King of Jin was in power, so I sat back and watched the success or failure. In the final analysis, I still leaned towards the King of Jin. Regarding the promise of King Jin to "feudalize the world", who in Guanzhong now knows? Because of the strong support of the clans in Shandong and Jiangnan, ten Most of the generals of the Six Guards stayed put, and many people were optimistic that King Jin would seize the throne.
However, one hundred thousand private troops in the south of the Yangtze River were defeated by the navy in one battle and were completely routed. As a result, the King of Jin was unable to provide support and the situation suddenly changed. Naturally, those who originally favored the King of Jin could not sit still, such as Cheng Yaojin.