Outside the Yumen Pass, the ancient road of yellow sand, the sunset shines on the sand dunes, glowing with orange and orange golden light, the Gobi is desolate, and the bitter cold land has been since ancient times. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Although the Yumen Pass was in the Sui and Tang dynasties, the desertification was not so serious, and the oasis was visible, but compared with the surrounding deserts and sandy plains, it was still too small to stop the footwork of desertification.

This time Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty toured the west, not greedy for pleasure, on the contrary, he wanted to make a difference, so he took such an adventure, not afraid of dangers, traveled a long distance, and went to Tuyuhun first, in order to deter the remnants of the nomadic tribes on the Qinghai Plateau, set up counties, and consolidate the new territory to be developed.

And this time, when he came to Zhangye County, Emperor Yang of Sui's purpose was also very clear, that is, to summon the leaders of the Western Regions and the nearby nomadic tribes to meet the Son of Heaven in the Central Plains and express his attachment.

During last year's northern tour, Emperor Yang of Sui had summoned the Khans of the ******, Khitan and other tribes and the chieftains of the branches.

However, Goguryeo not only did not send people to attend the court meeting, but also sent people to hijack the horse team that the Khitan was supposed to give to Emperor Yang of Sui, which made Yang Guang very unhappy, like a thorn stuck in his throat.

However, the western tour made Emperor Yang of Sui more satisfied, because the original purpose was achieved, and now out of Yumen Pass, came to the northwest of Zhangye County near Yanzhi Mountain, because Pei Shiju arrived one step earlier, brought the border soldiers of Yumen Pass, built tents here, Tucheng, etc., and after the arrival of Emperor Yang of Sui's army, the formation of the Guanfeng Palace, all the opera artists were in place, began to prepare costumes and props, and determined the performance program, because the envoys of the twenty or thirty countries of the Western Regions were coming.

Twenty-seven kings or envoys from the Western Regions, including Wusun, Qiuzi, Yanqi, Ruoqiang, and Gaochang, arrived one after another, taking turns to meet the Son of Heaven of the Great Sui.

This kind of grand occasion of worship in the Western Regions, with different styles, made Emperor Yang of Sui excited, ordered singing and dancing, and the army and the people enjoyed together, and held a grand song and dance party in this temporary earth city.

Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty held a banquet in the Guanfeng Xing Palace, entertained the envoys of various countries, and ordered people to perform a hundred plays for them, so that the envoys of these small countries in the Western Regions were dumbfounded, amazed, and full of praise.

"The Heavenly Empire is extraordinary!"

"The customs and culture of the Central Plains are really all-encompassing, praise it!"

"It's really not comparable to our small states in the Western Regions, if you can live in the Central Plains and watch more of these performances often, it's worth it."

The kings of these small states were amazed, and when they heard that Emperor Yang of Sui was full of scenery and arrogance, he simply ordered that the young men and women of Wuwei and Zhangye counties should wear the best clothes, stop the work at hand, and come together to participate in the prosperous songs.

As a result, the local crowd continued to come to the mountain to play and have fun, and it did not cost money to eat and stay, which made the event very successful, and of course, the money that consumed the national treasury was also very huge.

In private, He Ruobi, Gao Xi, Yu Wenbi and others got together, drank and talked, and complained with the strength of wine, feeling that Emperor Yang of Sui was like this, which was too extravagant and wasteful.

Gao Xi sighed: "Although Your Majesty wants to be a good emperor and a king through the ages, but he is too eager for quick success, building the eastern capital of Luoyang, digging the Grand Canal, repairing the Great Wall, and touring the north and west, every time it is a big deal, the treasury has been consumed very much in recent years, even if the inventory of grain warehouses is still abundant, but the inventory of coins and jewelry has been weakened greatly, and the imperial court has to continue to mint coins, which will depreciate the value of the coins and increase the burden on the people. ”

Yu Wenbi also said: "What's more, several major projects, labor is miserable, the people are displaced, many farms have been abandoned, the harvest has been halved, but the imperial court continues to take according to the original taxes, and even have to pay more, in addition to paying grain, there are also some harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes, to pay coins, the people are under great pressure, it seems that the treasury granary is sufficient, I think that the national strength is strong, the people are abundant, hum, this is just the appearance, the pressure of the people is already very great." ”

He Ruobi's big mouth was even stronger, and he said with the strength of the wine: "Your Majesty today, I am so happy, but I am not as good as the first emperor, these warehouses of grain are not reserved during the opening of the emperor, and they have been in the great cause for four years, and they are collected in the treasury, such as one-fifth of the cost, right?" If it goes on like this, my Dasui inventory, just with food, can it be regarded as a prosperous and glorious world? Moreover, you have also seen that this western tour, hundreds of thousands of people followed, is this necessary? For those people in small states in the Western Regions, it is enough to demonstrate for a few days, and as for such a big occasion, it takes two months to play, isn't it sick? ”

The three of them felt that their identities were enough, so they pointed out the country, and the emotions of worrying about the country and the people were pervasive, and they couldn't hold their mouths anymore.

But the speaker is unintentional, the listener is intentional, after Emperor Yang of Sui became the emperor for a few years, he set up a palace shadow guard, and also sent a lot of eyes and ears to monitor the minister's private actions, not to mention everything, but such an obvious gathering to drink, vain discussion of the monarch's words, was still introduced into the ears of Emperor Yang of Sui.

"These old things, relying on the old and selling the old, are tired and crooked."

Emperor Yang of Sui was furious, ordered the guards, arrested three old ministers overnight, and directly imprisoned them.

The next morning, when the hundred officials met the king, some ministers pleaded for mercy, but they were reprimanded by Emperor Yang of Sui, and they all kept silent.

Yuwenshu had a grudge with Gao Xi and He Ruobi as early as when Yang Guang won the heir, they were regarded as people on the side of the old prince Yang Yong, and Emperor Yang of Sui and other opportunities naturally did not use them much, even if they were promoted, they were not close to and favored.

Therefore, Yu Wenshu, Sima Dejiao and others continued to say some cold words to strengthen Emperor Yang of Sui's determination to execute the three people.

At this time, Luo Zhaoyun stood up and said: "Your Majesty, these three people are not inferior, full of complaints, obviously they are drunk and crazy, they can't all be taken seriously, although they are guilty, but the crime is not to death, please read on the three of them who have made a lot of meritorious contributions to the Great Sui, so as to avoid the death of the three people, and they will be dismissed and investigated, and they can no longer be hired, so as to show the grace of the saint." Moreover, this trip to the Western Regions, Your Majesty's achievements in Emperor Wu, opening up the territory, and becoming a holy khan should be a great joy. ”

Emperor Yang of Sui saw Luo Zhaoyun stand up and plead for mercy, his eyes turned cold, his most disgusted was that someone acted against the idea of the sky, he used to think that Luo Zhaoyun was his cronies, and he should follow his eyes, but he unexpectedly sang the opposite tune today.

However, what Luo Zhaoyun said was reasonable, which made Emperor Yang of Sui's anger a little less, silent for a moment, staring at Luo Zhaoyun, revealing a little suspicion and disappointment, and said: "Since General Luo requested, and what he said is not without a little truth, I am thinking that the three ministers, who have made many meritorious contributions to the Great Sui before, will be exempted from death, but they will be removed from their titles and official positions, demoted to civilians, confiscated property, and not appointed!" ”

"Thank you, Lord!" Luo Zhaoyun returned the salute, and some ministers who had a good relationship with Gao Xi and others saluted one after another.

"Let's all stand down-" Emperor Yang of Sui waved his hand, he was in a bad mood, and directly asked the hundred officials to push out of the Guanfeng Palace.

When Luo Zhaoyun left, he thought in his heart: I did a good thing for the Great Sui, saved the lives of the three ministers, and did not let some old ministers completely chill Yang Guang, I hope it can have an effect. (To be continued.) )