Chapter 408 Great achievements shock the Lord

Chapter 408 Great achievements shock the Lord

Chapter 408 Great achievements shock the Lord
Yang Guang was an emperor with both obvious strengths and weaknesses. His strengths were his lofty aspirations and his desire to make a difference, to solve the four major problems that his father had been unable to solve. At the same time, he was diligent in government affairs, never slacked off, and handled court affairs until very late every day.

But his shortcomings are also obvious, such as being stubborn and self-righteous, not willing to listen to others' advice, and being impatient for quick results. He would do whatever he said and demand that it be completed in a short period of time. This led him to be disregarding people's efforts and being a bit ostentatious.

When Yang Guang learned that his third son Xiao Xia had established the Yutian Protectorate in Yutian with a garrison of 800 soldiers, he was so excited that he said "good!" three times in a row.

He quickly ordered someone to get the map, and soon, the eunuch brought him a map of the Western Regions. This was a map of the former Northern Wei Dynasty, which was found from the previous library and redrawn because of the establishment of Shanshan County and Qiemo County.

Yang Guang unfolded the map and first found Shanshan County and Qiemo County, and then quickly found the Kingdom of Khotan to the west.

He took the imperial pen and united the Kingdom of Khotan with Qiemo and Shanshan. The excitement on his face was hard to fade away. The establishment of the Khotan Protectorate was equivalent to extending the territory of the Sui Dynasty westward by another 1,200 miles.

He put down his pen and said to Yang Su: "Tomorrow I will meet with the prince of Khotan and confer official positions on them and their sons in the Sui Dynasty!"

Yang Su smiled and said, "I am more concerned about this way of expanding territory. It is not to destroy the small countries in the Western Regions, but to coexist with them. It reminds me of the Western Regions Protectorate of the Han Dynasty, which was the method used by Your Highness the Prince of Jin. The court stationed troops in small countries in the Western Regions and established protectorates. The kings and officials of the small countries were all given Han titles. Your Majesty, this is actually a very good way to expand territory."

Yang Guang nodded. "After meeting with the prince of Khotan tomorrow, I will also meet with the chief secretary of the Prince of Jin's palace. Liu Wenjing is the chief staff of the Prince of Jin. I want to talk to him."

"I will make the arrangements. There is another piece of news about the Tanguts, which was also told to me by Liu Changshi. He also just received the eagle letter today."

Yang Su presented the copy of the Eagle Letter to Emperor Yang Guang, who read it and said, "It is not impossible to transfer the nationality of Sui people, but it can only be a special case and cannot be generalized. For example, if the Turks were to transfer their nationality to Sui people, there would be chaos."

"Your Majesty is right. Only a small and independent ethnic group like the Dangxiang can be transferred. Although His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin did not mention it, I guess that the nobles and leaders of the Dangxiang should have been killed, just like the Tuyuhun."

Yang Guang sighed and said, "Although this may have a good effect, it is immoral. Do not mention this matter again, let alone record it in history books. Do you understand?"

"I understand. Your Majesty, what do you think of changing the position of Grand Commander of Shanzhou to the position of General of Longyou?"

"We can consider reforming it together when the Dao is established next year. The Prime Minister should urge the construction of the Eastern Capital to be accelerated."

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, it will be completed before October next year."

"It's October!"

Yang Guang sighed, and then slowly said: "Next spring, I will inspect Hexi and Longyou, and then go to Hetao. I hope that the Eastern Capital will be completed when I come back!"

That afternoon, Prince Yuchibazhina of Khotan and his men moved into the Honglu Temple, bathed, changed clothes, and prepared to pay homage to the emperor.

The next morning, Emperor Yang Guang summoned Yuchi Bazhina, the prince of Khotan, to Ganquan Palace.

Yuchibazhina presented the emperor with a state gift, five-colored jade. Yang Guang was very pleased and issued an edict to confer the title of Shangzhuguo and General Guide on the King of Khotan, and to confer the title of Zhuguo on Prince Yuchibazhina.

At the same time, he agreed to Yuchi Bazhina's request and allowed him to study Buddhist painting under the famous painter Tian Sengliang.

After meeting with Yuchi Bazhina, Emperor Yang Guang summoned Liu Wenjing to the imperial study. Liu Wenjing respectfully paid homage, "Your humble servant Liu Wenjing pays homage to His Majesty, may Your Majesty live long and long!"

"My dear Liu, please stand up!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Yang Guang asked the eunuchs to bring seats and placed them below the prime ministers, and allowed Liu Wenjing to sit down.

Yang Guang smiled and said, "I just learned that the King of Jin led his army to destroy the Dangxiang people, and changed the Dangxiang people's nationality to Han people and settled them in Heyuan. This is a very creative move, and I agree with it. But have you considered moving the Han people there?"

"Reporting to your majesty, before the expedition, His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin discussed with me the resettlement of Han people. The Tanguts suffered heavy losses of young and strong men due to the long-term war with Tuyuhun, and there are many young women and widows in the tribe. It just so happens that a large number of soldiers in the Longyou Army have difficulty finding wives. His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin considered using marriage to allow Han soldiers to marry Tangut women, give them land in Heyuan County, and transfer them to government soldiers, or retire as civilians after marriage and settle down in Heyuan County. This will ensure that the Han people can reproduce and thrive in Heyuan County.

This is the idea of ​​His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin. Although the specific situation in Heyuan County is unclear, I think this arrangement will also be made. "

Yang Guang nodded, and then asked several prime ministers, "What do you think?"

Right Prime Minister Yang Su smiled and said, "This plan is feasible. It can make the soldiers who guard the border feel at ease. I suggest that we give them tax incentives, such as thirty or fifty years of tax exemption. This will attract more Han people to settle down and farm in the border areas."

The left prime minister Yang Da also said: "It is not only Heyuan County, but also Xihai County, Ruoqiang County and Qiemo County. The court should take preferential measures to relocate Han people to the border. Only when the people in the border areas live and work in peace and contentment can the Great Sui Dynasty firmly control the territory."

At this time, Wei Chong, the Minister of Revenue, asked: "Excuse me, Mr. Liu, I understand that the Tangut people have changed their nationality to Han people, but how are the Tangut chiefs and nobles arranged?"

Liu Wenjing hesitated for a moment and said, "Well, I just received the eagle letter. The text is limited, and I don't know the details."

Wei Chong snorted and said, "You don't need to avoid it. I know very well that the King of Jin will kill them all like he did with the nobles of Tuyuhun. He will feel very happy, but the reputation of the Great Sui Dynasty will be completely ruined by him."

Wei Chong said to Emperor Yang Guang: "Your Majesty, Tuyuhun has already submitted to the Sui Dynasty, but the King of Jin has carried out a bloody massacre on Tuyuhun. If the Dangxiang are also slaughtered, how will the various ethnic groups in the Western Regions view the Sui Dynasty in the future? The country is based on benevolence, and treats people with forgiveness and sincerity, especially the countries in the Western Regions. Only in this way can they sincerely submit to the Sui Dynasty and truly submit to Your Majesty. If they are forced to submit by killing, even if they submit, it is not their will, and they will easily betray the Sui Dynasty in the future. I once again urge Your Majesty to transfer the King of Jin back to the Central Plains as soon as possible. He is really not suitable for expanding the territory in the Western Regions."

Yuwen Shu, Yu Shiji and Su Wei also agreed with Wei Chong's attitude. They also believed that Prince Jin was too murderous and was not suitable to be in the frontier. He would bring a lot of unnecessary trouble to the Sui Dynasty. They suggested that the emperor transfer Prince Jin back to the Central Plains next year.

Yang Guang pondered for a while and said to Liu Wenjing, "I have decided to inspect Hexi and Longyou next spring. I will also go to Hetao to meet with the Turkic Khan. I mentioned the matter of Fengzhou to the King of Jin before and asked him to suspend all plans. I don't plan to let him serve as the Grand Commander of Lingzhou concurrently. The Protectorate of Khotan has given me a good inspiration. I can ask the King of Jin to consider establishing the Protectorate of Yiwu and the Protectorate of Gaochang."

Although the emperor did not say it explicitly, Liu Wenjing could hear that Wei Chong criticized the Prince of Jin for killing Tuyuhun nobles in person, and the other three prime ministers also criticized the Prince of Jin. They must have communicated with the emperor in advance, or even instructed by the emperor, so they found an excuse to cancel the Prince of Jin's concurrent position as the Grand Commander of Lingzhou.

Liu Wenjing knew very well that His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin had expanded the territory and made great influence in the Western Regions, which had more or less made him a threat to the ruler.

Liu Wenjing sighed inwardly and bowed, saying, "I will definitely tell His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin."

That afternoon, Emperor Yang Guang issued an edict that Prince Jin would no longer serve as the Grand Marshal of Lingzhou, and that Prince Fenyang Yang Gongren would be appointed as the Grand Marshal of Lingzhou, and Pei Ju would be appointed as the Turkic envoy and concurrently the Chief Clerk of the Lingzhou Grand Marshal's Office.

(End of this chapter)