In the palace of Wei City, the white-haired Pei Ju sat quietly on the couch, his eyes calm, without sadness or joy.
He is over seventy years old, but he still ate two bowls of corn rice with pickled vegetables just now. Can Lian Po still be able to eat at this old age? There is no need to worry about that here. He still eats well and sleeps soundly. This is undoubtedly a blessing from God.
gift to him.
And he has experienced too many things.
Speaking of which, he can be regarded as an old minister of the Northern Qi Dynasty. After the fall of the Northern Qi Dynasty, he became an official in the Northern Zhou Dynasty.
After Yang Jian ascended the throne, he became a Sui minister. He gradually became prosperous during the Kaihuang period and became one of the former Sui famous ministers and generals. During the Daye period, he became a general and a prime minister. He worked with Su Wei, Yang Su and others.
Together they are in charge of the government.
Su Wei, Yang Su and others fell out of favor one after another, but he gradually gained Yang Guang's favor and trust, and his partners were replaced by Yu Shiji, Yu Wenshu and others.
Over the past few decades, his life has been colorful.
There are few people who can compare with him in terms of achievements. He sent an envoy to the Turks and persuaded Dulan Khan to kill Princess Dayi, thus eliminating the future troubles of the Sui Dynasty.
He also sent an envoy to Tiele to persuade the Tiele people to attack Tuguhun, forcing Tuguhun Fuyun Khan to surrender to the Sui Dynasty.
He accompanied the army to attack the Chen Dynasty and entered the Sui Dynasty with the Jiangnan map.
Jiangnan Gao Zhizhi, Wang Wenjin and others caused rebellion. He led his army to quell the chaos, pacified more than 20 states in Lingnan, and led his army to the South China Sea.
He was also the most important foreign policy maker among Yang Guangchen's subordinates during the Daye period. He planned to conquer the Turks, manage the Western Regions, and attack Goguryeo.
Unfortunately, this is what later people criticized him for. Yang Guangxi's tour to Xi was unprecedentedly grand, but it did not have much benefit to the national power of the Sui Dynasty. It only highlighted the emperor's personal achievements.
There were also obvious deviations in the policy towards the Turks. Shibi Khan cut off tribute, so he encouraged the emperor to trap and kill Shibi's favorites. He also tried to induce the Turkic generals to rebel, which completely angered Shibi Khan, and the gain was not worth the loss.
Especially in the attack on Goguryeo, he was one of the staunchest supporters among the Sui officials, and ultimately ruined the former Sui Dynasty.
When Yang Guang ran to Jiangdu to hide like a bereaved dog, he did not try to persuade the king to cheer up. Instead, he and Yu Shiji and others controlled the government, arousing the resentment of the heroes in Jiangdu, and finally cost Yang Guang his life.
These tragic consequences may not be borne by him, but as one of the most important advisers during the Daye period, Pei Ju absolutely cannot escape responsibility.
This man is used to making plans and playing with people's hearts, but he rarely advises the king. Most of the time, he complies with the king's wishes and does what he knows he cannot do.
Such a wise and wise monarch will definitely become a famous minister, but when they meet Yang Guang, it can only be said to be their misfortune...
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Pei Ju himself also tasted the bitter consequences. He lived in Hebei and assisted Dou Jiande for several years, but he did not achieve much. He was not very dedicated to his advice. His desire for survival was getting stronger and stronger. The older a person gets, the less able he is to understand the words life and death, honor and disgrace.
For him, it no longer lingers in his mind.
This is Pei Ju and Pei Hongda, who ended up alone, desolate and lonely.
I have been imprisoned here for two days. I have no worries about food and drink, but I cannot take this step. It is no different from being in jail.
Of course, Pei Ju, who has calmed down, will not reflect on his merits and demerits. He has already passed that age, and of course he will not panic or fear. He has served six or seven emperors, and has seen several dynasties change.
Second-rate.
Unlike the fierce-looking Liu Heitai and others, this scene really didn't scare him.
Even from the moment he followed Dou Jiande, he had predicted that one day, Emperor Dou's shortcomings were too obvious. He was from a very low background, and it was difficult for him to be recognized by the wealthy family. In Pei Ju's eyes, this was a congenital flaw that could not be compensated for.
No matter how wise Emperor Dou behaved, Pei Ju had already sentenced Emperor Dou to death in his heart when he thought about the families in Guanxi and the sects in Jiangnan.
Without the support of the powerful family, it is simply a delusion to ascend the throne of the Supreme Being.
Of course, what surprised him was that Li Ding'an, who was rumored to have a low background, killed Li Yuan, which seemed a bit unbelievable to him.
He believed that the master of the world should be Li Yuan. He occupied the beautiful place in Kansai and was from a famous family. He had great advantages. If he did not become emperor, it would be like God was kidding everyone.
But God was really kidding. Li Ding'an, who rose to prominence in Jin Dynasty, went to Chang'an and became the emperor. It seems that the rebellion of the Kansai clan did not appear.
Has he been away from Kansai for too long, or has the Kansai people changed their temper?
Until now, he still can't figure out what went wrong. When he heard the news of Li Yuan's defeat, he only had Ruan Ji's words in his heart: There are no heroes, which made Zhuzi famous...
But no matter what he thought, Emperor Dou didn't have that kind of status anyway. Not only did he come from a humble background, but he also occupied a position that made it hard for people to look like he could compete with others for world supremacy.
Hebei and Shandong are both the hometowns of the Northern Qi Dynasty. There are indeed endless heroes and heroes. However, they were severely suppressed in the Northern Zhou Dynasty and the pre-Sui Dynasty. Not to mention now, the place is in ruins and it is difficult to clean up no matter how much governance it takes.
In short, his vision was relatively accurate. After the first battle, everyone was captured. The Tang army came so quickly. Pei Ju was a little surprised. After so many years of business, it ended in such a complete defeat?
The Tang army was unexpectedly powerful. He had looked at the top of the city before and saw that the cavalrymen were wearing half-length armor and waving their swords. They spread like a tide. Their military power was even greater than that of the Sui Dynasty...
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Emperor Dou surrendered as expected. He was not an emperor who was willing to fight to the death. He had been wandering around Shandong and hiding in Tibet for too long. His courage would only burst out occasionally, and more often he would struggle to survive.
survival resilience.
Before such a large army, few people were willing to die for the city. Anyway, he, Pei Ju, had no intention of being buried with Emperor Dou.
He was glad that Emperor Dou did not drag them north to Youzhou, but he was also a little worried that the Tang army would carry out unnecessary killings. Now it seems that the worst case did not happen. The Tang army entered the city quite calmly, and no one spilled blood.
come out.
Maybe this is the reason why the Tang army was able to defeat Li Yuan and defeat Wei City in one battle? In them, Pei Ju saw the shadow of the former Sui army.
Brave in battle and restrained after the war, this is obviously an army bound by strict military rules and regulations, which is one of the necessary qualities to win the world.
Thinking about these things, it was all due to his strong desire to survive. He even thought of the scattered rumors that his cousin Pei Shiqing was serving in the Tang court.
The ancestral home of the Pei family in Hedong is in Jin, and Pei Shiqing is definitely not the only one whose descendants serve as officials under Li Ding'an. If he can still go to Chang'an alive, it should not be a problem to support him in his old age.
But that old guy He Chou didn't deal with him. Back then, everyone was kidnapped by Yu Wenhuaji and taken to Weicheng, and most of them were captured by Dou Jiande. Only He Chou escaped by luck and even ran away to Jinyang.
This is all the news brought back by the imperial emissary Liu Bin when he was on an envoy to Jin a few years ago. It was said that He Chou was highly respected there and was trusted by Li Ding'an. I have to say that compared to others, he, Pei Hongda, was really unlucky.
A lot...
If he had the courage to lead his troops and charge back then, maybe things would be different now.
If he goes to Chang'an, he won't make things difficult for us, right? We are all in our 70s and 80s, and we shouldn't be so small-minded. The most we can do is come to him and apologize to him.
Also, he recommended Yang Gongren to Jinyang back then, which was a good move. Yang Wen had some integrity and was worthy of being the grandson of Guan. He almost starved to death in Weicheng and did not become an official of Emperor Dou.
There is also Queen Xiao. That woman went around and ran back to Jinyang. It is said that Li Ding'an was regarded as a treasure by Beauty Xiao. The Queen must be quite young, right? How many more days can she be pampered?
She won't blame me for not protecting her when we were in Wei City, right? I couldn't protect myself at that time, so you can't blame me for being ruthless...
Pei Ju's thoughts were running wild... Su Wei died a few years ago, and there probably aren't many old people left. This is a good thing. Pei Ju offended a lot of people in the court back then.
I don’t know where my children and grandchildren are now. I shouldn’t have moved my family to Luoyang back then. I hope they can escape back to Guanxi and not be killed by Wang Shichong’s Hunu.
No matter how wise he is, he is still an old man in his seventies. Once he recalls it, he can't help himself. People and things from the past appeared in his mind one after another, making him drowsy soon.
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At this moment, there was the sound of footsteps outside. It wasn't until he opened the door and came in that Pei Ju, who was half asleep, opened his eyes and looked around. In his daze, he was still thinking, it's not time to eat, right? I just dozed off for a while...
Then he suddenly woke up, and it seemed very bad to have someone come before dinner time...
Two people came, and Pei Ju could smell the strong military aura on their bodies without even looking or smelling them. Pei Ju didn't recognize either of them.
Of course, it's strange that he recognized the generals of the Tang army. After the Tang army entered the city, everyone was confined in the palace. The civil servants, generals and their respective families totaled about one or two thousand people.
The Tang army screened and recorded them, and then stopped harassing them. It was easy to understand that Emperor Dou and his surrender were not something that the generals could deal with at will. They should first send the news of success to Chang'an, and then wait for the imperial edict.
.
If you casually come into contact with someone who has been demoted, you will be irresponsible for your career.
But what are they going to do now? Pei Ju immediately cheered up.
Both of them carry a commanding power, and you can tell at a glance that they are not ordinary military generals. They are both in their prime, full of energy, and have sharp eyes.
Pei Ju saw many people like this, each one was decisive in killing and ambitious, but in the end... they were all trampled under his feet.
Pei Ju looked at it for a moment, then stood up slowly, smiled slightly and saluted: "It's getting late, and two generals suddenly came here. Do you have anything to ask?"