Spring, the season when all things grow and multiply.

It's not just plants and animals that grow in the spring, but many other things, both good and bad, are growing unscrupulously in the spring breeze and preparing for the baptism of the storm in the following summer.

When the time entered March, Wang Ze, accompanied by Zhu Qingqing, Cheng Xueyan and others, finally set off with a large number of younger brothers.

Goguryeo, the overlord of the East China Sea far away in the north of the peninsula, has officially entered spring at this time, and the weather has gradually become warmer with the warm wind.

As the spring ploughing approached, the Goguryeo tribesmen, the leaders of the envoys, and the lords of the cities also ended their military training and some conscription in the winter.

As a result, the young men of all ethnic groups who had been serving as soldiers under the command of the various tribes returned home one after another, and went to be busy with the most important cultivation of the year, and in Goguryeo, where the annual season prevailed, both the people and the Goguryeo government attached great importance to spring ploughing.

Of course, Liaodong, which has been occupied by Goguryeo for hundreds of years, has some special customs, and this fertile place is undoubtedly very jealous of Goguryeo, which has been brought by the Central Plains Dynasty many times in history, because of its proximity to the Central Plains Dynasty.

Considering the threat of the powerful Central Plains Dynasty, there was no large-scale development of Liaodong, and the Liaodong army now accounts for the majority, and Goguryeo is more important to the military occupation here.

Goguryeo's current economic center of gravity is undoubtedly the vast plain centered on its national capital, Pyongyang City, which used to be the location of the Han Dynasty's Lelang County, and the rich plains and the industrious work of a large number of Han people make it the richest place in Goguryeo.

Goguryeo King Gao Yangcheng, who ascended the throne three years ago, attached great importance to the development of agriculture from the beginning of his accession to the throne, and also canceled the grain collection system that was very harsh on the people, won the support of the people internally, and repaired various countries externally and obtained the canonization of the Northern Qi Dynasty.

It can be said that today's Goguryeo has not only completely stepped out of the shadow of being defeated by Baekje and Silla, but also took advantage of the opportunity of the Xia Kingdom in the East China Sea to defeat Baekje and Silla last year and obtained a lot of benefits, which made Goyangsung's prestige in Goguryeo more and more high.

Such an achievement has been achieved within a few years of taking the throne, and it is said that Gao Yangcheng should be happy even if he does not play happily with the little girls all day, but now he is frowning and there is no trace of a smile on his face.

The place where he is now is not the main hall of the palace, but in a remote courtyard in the palace, and there is no guard outside the courtyard, quietly, he is waiting for someone.

At this time, it was close to midnight, but Gao Yangcheng couldn't sleep, and now Goguryeo is in a period of change of power, and the contradictions between various forces in the country are profound, especially the contradictions between the royal family who focus on promoting the new nobles and the old nobles headed by the five lords are deepening, if you are not careful, it is likely to lead to a catastrophe, but I was a little anxious some time ago.

At the beginning, the first monarch of Goguryeo, Jumong, established the regime and in the subsequent expansion, in order to win over all possible allies, the entire Goguryeo was divided into five tribes: the Juan Nu Division, the Absolute Slave Division, the Shunnu Division, the Irrigation Slave Division, and the Guilou Division.

The leaders of these five tribes, known as the Gobu Lord, also known as the Lord, were both officials of the early central authority of Goguryeo and a local administrative body, each administering a piece of territory in Goguryeo, and the Lords also had considerable autonomy over the territory under their jurisdiction, but had their own army, independent judicial power, and the power to appoint their own officials.

The early so-called Goguryeo Kingdom was actually just a tribal alliance, of course, because the Goguryeo royal family had relatively high political means, and since Goguryeo, it later conquered many tribes, including the Jingren Kingdom, the Northern Wofu Kingdom, the Liang Kingdom, the Gaima Kingdom, and the Jucha Kingdom.

Because most of these tribes have a different relationship with the five tribes of Goguryeo, the Goguryeo king did not merge these tribes into the five tribes, and in order to strengthen the power of the royal family, they often established a separate one, adopted the ruling structure of maintaining their own ethnic group, and the Goguryeo king sent another Daga (official) to lead and control the royal family.

In the following centuries, the Goguryeo royal family gradually divided the various ministries by increasing the number of royal envoys, soap-clothed ancestors, and other officials directly assigned by the royal family, and gained more and more control in the Goguryeo Kingdom.

By the time of the current Goguryeo king, Goyangcheng, in fact, the power of the five ministries had been weakened a lot, and even the original five ministries had become real local administrative institutions.

However, the young Gao Yangcheng was still not at ease, he knew that under the accumulation of hundreds of years, these so-called five masters had a deep background, and once they were given a little chance, they would immediately grow up rapidly, threatening the safety of the royal family.

Taking advantage of this opportunity to gain prestige after taking a large area of land along the Han River without bloodshed, Gao Yangcheng took the opportunity to further weaken the power of the five domestic lords, which led to strong resistance from the lords of each ministry, and in addition to the hatred of the royal family by Goguryeo dignitaries such as Peilu, Zhuji, and Yutai, who had been excluded from the central authority step by step in the past, the two sides had a tendency to unite.

During this time, Gao Yangcheng clearly felt an undercurrent surging in Pyongyang City and even the entire Goguryeo, which made the young Gao Yangcheng very uneasy, so he needed the support of more ministers.

The candlelight flickered in the dim room, and Gao Yangcheng's face reflected in the candlelight changed violently, and suddenly the hurried footsteps outside the courtyard attracted his attention, he listened attentively for a moment, and immediately greeted him with surprise.

An old minister dressed as a Goguryeo civil official came here under the leadership of a young palace man carrying a lantern, and this old minister was none other than Gao Shaocong, the distant branch of the Goguryeo royal family, and one of the few confidants that Gao Yangcheng clearly knew could be trusted.

"Boss, it's a little cold outside, so come in quickly!" Gao Yangcheng first whispered to Gao Shaocong, and then looked around again and saw that no one was following, but he still asked the palace man: "Did anyone notice when you came in?" ”

That palace man is also Gao Yangcheng's companion since childhood, and he has won Gao Yangcheng's trust, and he is also loyal to Gao Yangcheng, so he immediately lowered his eyebrows and whispered back: "Your Majesty, when you came, you asked the boss to dress up as a palace person, and he took the waterwheel of the kitchen, and secretly came down outside the inner palace, without attracting the attention of others." ”

Gao Yangcheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and then said to the palace man: "You go to the courtyard and keep an eye on the quietly outside, and pay attention to any suspicious people approaching here!" ”

Saying that, Gao Yangcheng took the hand of the old minister Gao Shaocong and walked into the house, and said apologetically: "I still bother the old man to run such a trip at night, so that the old man has suffered so much, it really shouldn't be, but I have to ask the old man for advice about the current situation." ”

Although Gao Shaocong is nearly sixty years old, because of proper maintenance and Han blood, his fair skin looks like fifty, and his chin is even more elegant.

Seeing Gao Yangcheng speak like this, Gao Shaocong arched his hand and said: "Where did the king say that, when he was quite kind to the previous king, and the king was kind to the old minister, at this time, it is the time to repay the former king and the king's kindness, why do you have to work hard to just say, but now I don't know what the king's decision is about the current situation?" ”

At this time, the two had already entered the house, Gao Yangcheng respectfully poured Gao Shaocong a cup of tea, and then said with a wry smile: "What else can you decide?" Now that all the domestic ministries, such as Yusa, Peilu, the main book, and Yu Taiwan, are about to jointly stand up against me, I also know that I am indeed in a hurry, but now I can't take a step! ”

Gao Shaocong was silent for a long time after listening to Bi Jiu, Gao Yangcheng's previous behavior was not just a little anxious, the situation after the founding of Goguryeo, which generation of kings was not very anxious about the domestic situation, but how could this kind of power matter come in a hurry.

Since the restoration of Goguryeo from the Marudu Mountain in the last years of the Western Jin Dynasty, the successive kings relied on the strategy of slow cooking over low heat, which reduced the power of the original high-ranking and powerful five lords and the prominent ministers such as Peilu, Zhushu, and Yutai step by step, and it has consumed the time of more than ten generations of monarchs to this point.

Now Gao Yangcheng is really in a hurry, if it weren't for the opportunity of Wang Ze's attack on Baekje and Silla last year, he effortlessly recaptured a large area of land along the Han River, which led to Gao Yangcheng's prestige being extremely high, and now I am afraid that someone is going to attack the king.

Gao Shaocong lowered his head and thought about it and said to Gao Yangcheng: "Your Majesty, it is not impossible to do so today, that is, as long as the king can continue to lead my big Gao clan to victory, then the prestige of the king will become higher and higher. ”

Gao Yangcheng's eyes lit up, and he suddenly became excited: "I hope the boss will teach me!" There will be great rewards in the future! ”

Gao Shaocong smiled slightly and said: "Don't worry, the king, Weichen now has a two-step plan, as long as the king takes his time, not only can he make all the departments obey his orders, but my big Gao clan will also become a powerful country in the world!" Although the Northern Qi is strong, there is nothing to be afraid of! ”

"Please tell me quickly, my lord!" Gao Yangcheng was immediately attracted, what could attract more attention than creating a powerful country in the world with his own hands.

At this moment, Gao Shaocong seemed to be possessed by the soul of Zhuge Liang, who had a million soldiers in his chest, and he said with a straight face: "Now that the country is not to act rashly, our first step is to take Baekje, which is now declining!" ”

Gao Yangcheng was a little puzzled and said, "Boss, I also know that Baekje and Silla have suffered heavy losses in the attack of the Xia Kingdom in the East China Sea before, can't these two countries be taken by us?" Why just Baekje? ”