Compared with the chaotic situation north of the Yangtze River where all the heroes came together, Jiangnan looked much better on the surface. At least this was the situation in Jiangnan that Yang Guang saw after he came to Yangzhou.
As for Henan and Hebei, starving people are everywhere, Shandong and Shanxi are all together, and Hebei and Hedong are a country within a country. Under the influence of all parties, these things have not been brought to Yang Guang's desk for a long time, or should be said.
In front of Pei Shiju and Yu Shiji, these things disappeared.
Pei Shiju and Yu Shiji knew very well that the current emperor had a desire to escape reality from the bottom of his heart, or that he had a disease, a disease in which he could not hear bad things but could only hear good things.
Yang Guang, who suffers from this disease, will fall into a state of hysteria when he hears that there are rebellions, rebels attacking the city, or aristocratic families taking control of the place, and then he will kill people. The maids, eunuchs, guards, and even ministers around him will all
He might have been beaten to death in anger.
Although Pei Shiju and Yu Shiji were Yang Guang's most trusted people, they were also walking on thin ice, and they were the people who had the most contact with Yang Guang. Yang Guang issued orders through them on both big and small matters, or the following matters were communicated to Yang Guang through them.
Report.
If it weren't for the two men's ability to observe words and emotions to the point of perfection, their ability to talk and talk to a very high level, and their ability to figure out Yang Guang's thoughts was unique in the world, they would have been killed by Yang Guang many times.
It is precisely because Pei Shiju and Yu Shiji secretly sent people to send large amounts of financial bribes to them in order to protect themselves, and some local forces wanted to be ignored by the central government, so they often evaded some matters.
For example, Li Mi sent people to deliver a large amount of treasures, and asked the two of them to downplay many things in Wagang Village. Yang Guang didn't even know that Wagang Village's military strength had expanded four or five times in the past six months, and its territory had increased.
Two or three times, and many urgent documents from local officials to the imperial court were sent to the imperial court, but disappeared without response.
For example, there were always people around Li Yuan in the court, covering up what he did in Hedong, so that Yang Guang was so confused that he almost forgot about Li Yuan.
On the contrary, because Wang Junlin's status in Yang Guang's heart was so special, Yang Guang often asked about Wang Junlin's affairs in Hebei. Pei Shiju and Yu Shiji couldn't hide it, so they told the truth about many things, but every time Yang Guang would be furious.
, will be so angry that they will smash things and then kill people.
After a few times, Pei Shiju and Yu Shiji didn't even dare to say more about many things about Wang Junlin, or they said some things vaguely. Sometimes they changed the description angle, which was not considered deceiving the emperor, but at least it prevented Yang Guang from becoming a madman.
In this way, everyone knew from top to bottom that His Majesty the Sui Emperor did not like to see those who pretended to be concerned about the country and the people, and in the eyes of everyone in the court, the world's troubled times became a scabies itch, far away from the imperial city and the court.
Far away, no need to make a fuss.
In this way, while singing and dancing, Yang Guang lives in a false fantasy and continues to enjoy the dream of a prosperous world. He doesn't know whether he is really confused and has become a madman, or he is pretending to be confused and unwilling to face the reality, making himself become a madman.
An ostrich, or one who has given up on himself.
Nowadays, there are fewer people who can or dare to disturb Yang Guang. Fan Zigai, Duke of Ji Jinggong, died of illness in July, Zhao Xiaocai, Minister of the Ministry of War, retired and returned to his hometown in August. Su Wei, a veteran of the two dynasties, has also reached his twilight years and rarely visits the palace anymore.
In this way, what happened outside was completely left to the loyal Pei Shiju and Yu Shiji to take care of it. Except for some major events that had to be decided or known by the emperor, many things were decided by the two of them just watching, or with each other.
It will be settled after the interests of the following people are delivered or exchanged.
As time went by, the court ministers even got used to not bothering His Majesty the Emperor, and they would not let the Emperor Shengming worry about it easily. However, Yang Guang, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, who was boating and riding the blue waves all day long, actually had great trust in Pei Shiju and Yu Shiji. He seemed to
I fully believe that these two important ministers can handle the complicated and boring government affairs in an orderly manner, so that the people can live and work in peace and contentment.
If the mutual trust between the monarch and his ministers reaches this level, how can the affairs of the country be discordant?
This is of course a big joke.
Yang Guang likes to hear good things. When the news spreads, people will naturally like him.
Therefore, since Yangzhou and his party arrived in Yangzhou more than half a year ago, auspicious signs have appeared one after another, and the good news that the bandits have been wiped out has also come one after another. After seeing this, Yang Guang didn't even bother to read the good news. He left it all to Pei Shiju and
Yu Shiji went to deal with it, and the two of them occasionally selected a few for His Majesty the Emperor to see or listen to. They also took out a few to relieve his boredom when the Emperor was bored.
What Yang Guang pulled out today was a stack of memorials that Pei Shiju personally sent to the palace a few days ago. Yang Guang remembered that he was busy visiting Yangzhou Lake, so he didn't take the time to look at it. Now that he finally had a moment of leisure, it was time to
Give Pei Shiju an answer so as not to chill this loyal minister's heart.
At this time, a eunuch saw the emperor starting to deal with government affairs and personally brought a bowl of ginseng soup.
Recently, His Majesty the Emperor's health seems to be getting worse day by day, and he needs some nourishing food to take care of his body. About three ounces of wild ginseng like this is best. The fire will not be so strong that it will make people uncomfortable, and it will not have any medicinal properties at all. Drink it
Afterwards, I still feel unenergetic.
"Is this mountain ginseng from Northeast China?" Yang Guang smelled the strong medicinal smell. He picked up the bowl and took a sip. He could smell the ingredients in the medicinal food right away.
"To report back to Your Majesty, it is indeed Northeastern Mountain Ginseng." The eunuch had been waiting to say this for several days. He quickly bent down and answered with a bit of admiration, but in his heart he was thinking that this matter has been done.
, he finally got the 500 acres of fertile land in the south of the Yangtze River given to him by Xu Jingzong, the commander-in-chief of the Blue Guard.
"I remember that when we set out from Luoyang, all these things were left to my imperial grandson, and there seems to be not much left. Where did they come from?" Yang Guang took another sip of ginseng soup and continued to ask tiredly.
.The wild ginseng brought in by the counties under the Great Sui Dynasty was the best produced in Youzhou and Goguryeo in the northeast. However, due to the uprising and bandits in the world, the official road was cut off, and the counties in Youzhou and Naben used this as an excuse. Since last year
He no longer pays taxes to the imperial court, let alone sends precious wild ginseng to Yangzhou.
"Your Majesty, it was sent to the palace by Master Yu three days ago when he delivered the memorial. It was said to be a tribute from Youzhou. You didn't pay attention at the time, so the old slave ordered someone to collect it!" This eunuch is from Yang Guang's side.
He is an old man. He has been with Yang Guang since he was the prince. Although he is older, his memory shows no signs of deterioration. He also knows Yang Guang's temper very well. However, he is also worried these days. If it were not for His Majesty the Emperor,
Loyalty exists, and I don’t want to wait around Yang Guang for a day.
"Well, a few days ago, some people said that Luo Yi from Youzhou had rebelled, and was secretly colluding with Wang Junlin, and later said that he was secretly colluding with Li Yuan. Now it seems that it was all framed!" Yang Guang nodded.
Eating ginseng porridge and rice, he slowly said this.
When Yang Guang said these words, his expression was joyful and his tone was brisk, like a child who had just walked out of the mountains. He was full of ignorance and curiosity about external things and seemed very innocent. As long as what others said was good for him, he would
believe.
The old eunuch was stunned for a moment, but his heart became more frightened and a little bitter. He knew that His Majesty the Emperor's illness had recurred. The more this happened, the more serious the illness was.
"What's wrong with you? You're not feeling well. You're getting older. Pay attention to your health." Yang Guang noticed the old eunuch's expression was different, glanced at it, and asked with concern.
"I'm fine, old slave. As long as I can serve His Majesty, I will be willing to die." The old eunuch became more and more frightened, and he knelt down on the ground with a thump and said with a choked voice.
Yang Guang glanced at the old eunuch and suddenly shouted: "Come here, I will kill this old slave who dares to bully you."
Immediately two guards came in and pulled the old eunuch out who was begging for mercy.
"Luo Yi, if Li Shimin, the second son of Li Yuan, hadn't told me that you were from Wang Junlin when we were in Yanmen City, and provided sufficient evidence, I would have truly believed that you were loyal to me and the imperial court." Yang Guang said with a look on his face.
With murderous intent, he pushed everything on the imperial desk down, and the bowl of ginseng porridge flew to the floor and broke into several pieces in an instant.
"Sooner or later I will personally lead the army and capture and kill Wang Junlin and Luo Yi in front of the battle array!" Yang Guang roared loudly.
Several young eunuchs hurried in with trembling bodies and cleaned up the broken porcelain and leftover soup. Yang Guang sat dumbly behind the imperial desk, watching the several eunuchs busy back and forth in front of him, but his whole person had fallen into a strange kind of mood.
state.
There were veins pulsing on his forehead, and his face was as red as if it had been roasted by fire, but his hands and feet were as if they had just been soaked in the river, and were surprisingly cold.
Pain, anger, despair, fear, helplessness, etc., all kinds of negative emotions were intertwined in his heart, making him not want to say a word anymore, he just wanted to watch his country fall apart.