After a while, the city gate opened, and Yang Shanhui, who was about fifty years old, tall and thin, had a pair of bright eyes on his dark face.

Yang Shanhui is also a member of the Hongnong Yang clan, and Yang Su is of the same clan and different branches, according to the generation, he and Yang Xuancheng are the same generation, he has been an official in Hebei, the great cause has been nine years, the clansman Yang Xuangan rebelled, but Yang Guang did not implicate the Hongnong Yang family.

Yang Shanhui was reused, taking over Feng Xiaoci as the general guard of Qinghe County, and assisting Yang Yichen in killing Gao Shida, the leader of the Hebei bandits, and was commended by Yang Guang.

After Yang Yichen was transferred back to the imperial court, Dou Jiande swept in again, attacked the city and plundered the wall, invincible, but fought with Yang Shanhui, but was defeated repeatedly, and Yang Shanhui became the mainstay of Hebei's resistance to Dou Jiande.

At the beginning of last year, due to lack of food, Yang Shanhui was forced to withdraw his troops to Wei County, and was named the Taishou of Wei County, and a few months later, due to Qu Tutong's surrender to Li Yuan, the deputy general Yao Junsu was defeated and fled back to Wei County, and was named the governor of Wei County by Yang Tong, and Yang Shanhui held Wei County together.

At this time, Dou Jiande was defeated in Leshou County, and the news of the annihilation of Dou Jiande's 300,000 army had also reached Anyang City, which made the soldiers and civilians of Anyang City cheer, and Yang Shanhui was also happy, but while he was happy, he also had a kind of worry, where would Anyang City go?

Yang Shanhui walked out of the city with a smile and said to Yang Xuanyu: "I heard that you are in Lingwu County, when did you come to Hebei?" ”

"I just arrived in Hebei and was appointed as the Taishou of Hejian County, so let's take a look at my brother."

Of course, Yang Shanhui knew Yang Xuan's intention to come to Anyang City, and he didn't say it thoroughly, so he smiled and said, "We haven't seen each other for almost five years!" It's just in time, follow me into the city and talk about it. ”

He took Yang Xuan's award into Anyang City, the pattern of Anyang City and Chang'an is the same, it is also divided into neighborhoods, the middle is Yecheng Street, and all the way to the end is Wei County Taishou Mansion, into Taishou Mansion. Go into the official room and sit down.

Yang Shanhui poured him a cup of hot tea, and then sighed and said: "After being besieged by Dou Jiande for nearly a year, the war is finally over, but I feel empty in my heart. Don't know where to go? ”

Yang Xuanxuan took a sip of tea slowly, and then said unhurriedly: "Second brother, there are some things you have to face reality, now that Dou Jiande is finished, Hebei has been occupied by the imperial court, you have to make a choice, you can't be vague anymore." ”

Yang Shanhui nodded silently. Of course, he knew that it was impossible for the Northern Sui to let himself occupy Anyang again and not leave, unless he surrendered, but this Sui Dynasty was not the other Sui Dynasty......

He sighed and asked, "Do I have any choice?" ”

"Yes! You have two choices, one is to surrender to the imperial court, with the second brother's reputation and seniority, you will have a good official arrangement, if you refuse to surrender, then it is the second choice. The army stayed, and the second brother left on his own. ”

Yang Shanhui lowered his head and pondered for a moment, and suddenly asked, "Did Yang Yuanqing call you here?" ”

Yang Xuanyu heard him call Yang Yuanqing by his name. His brows couldn't help frowning slightly, "Is the second brother very disgusted with King Chu?" ”

"It's not disgusting, it's just that some of his past practices make me a little dissatisfied."

Yang Shanhui did not hide it, and said frankly: "I mean that he broke away from the Yang family, of course, it was the Yang family who was wrong at first and drove him out of the family, but then the Yang family admitted his mistake, and Xuan Gan personally wanted to take him back to the family, but he refused." Ay! That's a bit too sentimental. ”

Yang Xuanxuan shook his head and said with a wry smile: "Second brother, this matter is not as simple as you think, the reason why he has not returned to the family for a long time is because the Holy Lord is making an obstacle, and he has no choice!" ”

"Holy?"

Yang Shanhui was a little confused. After all, he is not the same branch, but he has heard a little, and he does not know the specific details, so Yang Xuancheng told him what happened that year, and finally sighed: "When he was only five years old, I felt that this son was unusual, and he would have achievements in the future, but I never dreamed that he was the dragon seed that God descended on my Yang family, and he would be the first emperor of our Yang family!" ”

Yang Xuanyu thought of the ups and downs and turmoil of the Yang family for more than ten years, and he couldn't help but burst into tears, and his voice trembled with excitement.

"Second brother, the Pei family can become a powerful person in the court, the Cui family, the Wang family, and the Lu family, they can all occupy a high position in the court, why does our Yang family have no chance, Yuanqing is the Yang family, he only saw him bury his father, and he knew that he did not forget his roots, but there is no one in the Yang family, I can tell the second brother frankly, it was I who took the initiative to ask to come to Anyang City, I want to persuade you to take the initiative to surrender, I want you to become the representative of our Yang family in the court."

Yang Shanhui pondered for a long time, and then said to Yang Xuan: "Let me think about this matter for a while, I want to discuss it with Yao Changshi, the virtuous brother has come to work hard, let's go rest first...... Yang Xuanxuan went down to rest with a maid, Yang Shanhui paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, he was also said to be tempted, he knew that Yang Xuanxuan was Yang Yuanqing's uncle, but he would not be reused, and it would be difficult to enter the core decision-making level, if it was himself, it would be different.

He is very aware of the situation in Taiyuan and China, and now that Pei Ju and Su Wei are old, the five phases are going to be increased to seven phases, in fact, there are four places, will Yang Yuanqing consider choosing one person in his family as the prime minister?

In the Hongnong Yang family, now in terms of seniority and merit, no one will have to get themselves, maybe as Yang Xuanyuan said, he will become the representative of Hongnong Yang's power in the court, then he is the second Yang Su.

Yang Shanhui is an honest official, extremely popular in Hebei, and is also highly valued by Yang Guang and Yang Tong in the imperial court, if it were not for his repeated defeat of Dou Jiande, he would also enter the court as a high position, and like all court officials, he also has to consider his future.

At this time, there was a sound of hurried footsteps outside the door, and Chang Shi Yaojun appeared at the door, "Is Yang Yuanjun looking for me?" ”

Yao Junsu is also a very upright person, loyal to the Sui Dynasty, when Qu Tutong surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, he also came to persuade him, was scolded by him, but Hedong County he couldn't stay, so he returned to his hometown Wei County, Yang Tong was grateful for his loyalty, so he appointed him as the governor of Wei County.

It was the tacit cooperation of Yao Junsu and Yang Shanhui that made Dou Jiande attack Anyang City dozens of times and couldn't take it, if Dou Jiande perished, it was time for them to break up.

Yao Junsu sat down without saying a word, Yang Shanhui also poured him a cup of hot tea, glanced at him and asked with a smile: "You know?" ”

Yao Junsu nodded, he had already received the news of the arrival of Yang Xuan's award.

"Tell me what's next?"

"If we don't surrender to Northern Sui, we won't be able to stay in Wei County, right?" Yao Junsu asked first.

Yang Shanhui sighed, "That's for sure, if we don't leave and don't surrender, the army will come, unless we continue to resist." ”

"We can't let the soldiers sacrifice any more meaninglessly."

Yao Junsu objected to continuing to resist, "Give everyone a way out, it's just that I don't want to surrender Yang Yuanqing, in my opinion, there is no difference between Yang Yuanqing and Li Yuan, it's just that the disguise is a little better." ”

Yang Shanhui was stunned, "Do you want to go back to Luoyang?" ”

They all know very well the situation in Luoyang, it is a matter of time before Wang Shichong usurps the throne, they have already reached a consensus that they will not serve Wang Shichong, Yao Junsu's answer really puzzled Yang Shanhui.

Yao Junsu sighed lowly, "I plan to go to Jiangdu to worship the first emperor, and then I will go back to Tangyin's hometown, and I can't go into hiding, in my opinion, the Sui Dynasty has perished, I can't be martyred for it, then at least I should keep a festival for it." ”

The two were silent for a moment, and Yao Junsu put the Changshi Yin they brought together on the table, "Take care, I'm leaving." ”

The two stood up and hugged each other tightly, tears welled up in their eyes, Yao Junsu turned away, he had no nostalgia for his official career, although his family was surrounded by walls, but for the sake of his faith and loyalty in his heart, he threw away all the wealth and glory.

At the head of the city, Yang Shanhui silently watched Yao Junsu, who was dressed in a green shirt and a small hat, ride a thin donkey away, at this moment, he was so ashamed in his heart...... Yang Yuanqing was still waiting for the news of Yang Xuan's award in Hejian County, and the final battle had ended more than ten days ago, and for more than ten days, he had been meeting with officials from various counties and counties in Hebei almost every day, accepting their allegiance, and listening to their difficulties and expectations.

He did not have time to inspect all the counties, but from the oral accounts of the county officials, he deeply felt the serious damage suffered by Hebei during the years of war, with ten rooms and nine empty rooms, a large amount of fertile land barren, the countryside deserted, and the granaries of more than a dozen counties empty.

As soon as Dou Jiande collapsed, no one gave him food anymore, so it was not so much that these officials were here to serve allegiance, but that they were here to ask for food.

Yang Yuanqing paced around the room with his hands behind his back, although he knew that the situation in Hebei was very bad, but he didn't expect that it would deteriorate to such an extent that even the government organized officials to go out to dig wild vegetables.

If Hedong County did not suffer too much banditry, and was able to keep the cultivated land and population, and become a powerful resource for him to compete for the world, then the decline of Hebei was a big mountain in front of him, not to mention that he could send troops and food to support the army, but at least he should be able to stand on his own.

The imperial court's grain stock is not much, only 600,000 stones, and more than half of it will be consumed to relieve Hebei alone, not to mention military rations.

At this time, there was a report from the soldiers guarding the city at the door, "Chief Qiyu, there are thousands of people from outside the southern city, all of them are shipbuilders, the first one is called Zhang Long, and the other is called Zhang Hu, saying that the chief manager gave them some tasks." ”

Yang Yuanqing suddenly remembered the matter of the Beiping County Shipyard, and couldn't help but be overjoyed, and immediately turned around and walked outside the palace, and soon he came to the city, only to see a large group of ragged people standing outside the city, including men and women, and children, there were more than 2,000 people, and the people headed by them were Zhang Long and Zhang Hu.

They also saw Yang Yuanqing and shouted excitedly: "His Royal Highness the King of Chu, we have brought eight hundred craftsmen, all of whom are good at building sea ships......