Hungry Ghost Festival at Jinyang Street and Jinyang River
The celebration is still going on, but some small streets in the west of the city are very quiet. Although every house hangs lanterns and has an bon orchid basin at the door, there are very few pedestrians. Most Taiyuan people go to the main street and the river.
.
At this time, a carriage drove up from a distance, followed by more than a dozen followers. The carriage stopped in front of a mansion. The lantern at the door of the mansion read the word "Du Mansion". This was Du Ruhui's mansion.
An attendant ran up the steps to call the door, and an old face appeared in the car window. It was Su Wei, the chief minister of the Sui Dynasty.
Su Wei was old and almost no longer interfered with government affairs. His existence was more of a symbol, symbolizing the continuation of the Sui Dynasty.
Yang Yuanqing attaches great importance to this famous minister who has been the prime minister since the founding of the Sui Dynasty. Although he is not as virtuous and prestigious as Gao Juong and has many shortcomings, his stabilizing effect is unmatched by others.
Su Wei came to see Du Ruhui for an important matter.
After a while, the side door of Du Mansion opened, and Du Ruhui personally welcomed him out. Generally, the owner did not go out to greet him in person, but usually sent his nephews, brothers, and the like to go out to greet him. However, Du Ruhui knew that this Su Wei was very arrogant and cared about this kind of etiquette.
, he will feel much more comfortable if he goes out to greet him by himself.
When Su Wei saw Du Ruhui going out in person, his eyes widened with a smile. Du Ruhui really respected him. When he got out of the carriage, Du Ruhui hurriedly stepped forward to support him, "Old Prime Minister, be careful!"
"Haha! Prime Minister Lao Du is here."
Su Wei got off the carriage, straightened his back, and said with a smile: "I'm disturbing Du Xiangguo's rest today."
"Where! Where! It should be the junior who goes to the house."
Su Wei nodded, "Then let's go into the room and talk!"
"Su Xiangguo please!"
There was no way ahead for Du Ruhui, so he took Su Wei to his outer study room. The two of them entered the room. Su Wei saw that the lights in the room were bright. Green smoke was rising from the incense burner in the corner of the room, and there was a memorial on the table.
Halfway through writing.
The two were seated separately, and a maid served tea. Su Wei pointed to the table, "Is Du Xiangguo still writing his memorial?"
Du Ruhui nodded and sighed slightly: "The imperial court is short of food, and now we are conquering the Central Plains. We still need to spend a lot of money and food to resettle the people. To be honest, I am very worried. Without food, it is difficult for a clever woman to make a living without rice!"
Although Su Wei was the nominal head of the five prime ministers, Du Ruhui was appointed as the minister Zuopushe and was the real prime minister. He was responsible for reviewing and responsible for the court's money and food expenses. He was under great pressure.
This time Yang Yuanqing attacked the Central Plains. Although Du Ruhui was not an opponent, he did not support it and maintained a neutral stance. He was now extremely worried about the food problem.
Su Wei could understand Du Ruhui's difficulties. He responded with a smile, "In the second half of the year, Hebei's expenditures were a little smaller. I thought I could take a breather, but the expenditures in the Central Plains came again, and this year's grain harvest happened to be poor. I am worried about Du Ruhui's difficulties.
I understand."
Both of them smiled bitterly, complaining, but from the overall perspective, the capture of the Central Plains is indeed worthy of celebration. Su Wei added: "Seizing the Central Plains. Although life is a little tight, as long as we make routine savings, we can still overcome this difficulty.
But the strategy to seize the Central Plains is no small matter, it is the most critical step for us to seize the world."
Du Ruhui nodded, "I also know this. Your Highness's capture of the Central Plains is an extremely exciting event for the entire court. I heard that there is a lot of food in the spoils, totaling as much as 300,000 dan. With this amount of food, at least it can cope with it."
In the Central Plains for half a year, there are still troops who can stockpile fields and plant some short-season millet. I think we can get through this difficulty."
Of course Du Ruhui also knew that Su Wei came to see him so late, not just to talk about food, but something big must be coming. After pondering for a while, Du Ruhui asked tentatively: "What seems to be the matter with Mr. Su?"
"Of course, I won't stop by if you have anything to do!"
Su Wei smiled mysteriously. He took a sip of tea and then said calmly: "Actually, I have been thinking about one thing, which is about His Royal Highness King Chu's accession to the throne. After the Battle of the Central Plains, I feel that the time has come.
Already."
Du Ruhui did not speak, lowered his head to drink tea, and listened to Su Wei continue to speak. Su Wei was slightly startled when he saw Du Ruhui's expression was dull, and then said: "Actually, after the Hebei Campaign, I was thinking about this matter. I also talked with the King of Chu.
, but the King of Chu did not express his position, so after the Battle of Hebei, the matter was settled. I guess King Chu felt that the time was not ripe at the time, but now that the Battle of the Central Plains is over, we have the upper hand. At this time, regardless of King Chu's
My prestige and achievements have reached a new height. I think the time is ripe, so I came to see Du Xiangguo tonight..."
Having said this, Su Wei glanced at Du Ruhui meaningfully, his eyes asking: 'What do you think?'
Du Ruhui is still deep in thought. He has actually considered this matter, but he has not considered it maturely. From his original point of view, he feels that the conditions are still a little bit behind, and it has not yet become a matter of course. The key is that Luoyang and Chang'an have not been captured.
The imperial aura has not yet completely condensed.
Du Ruhui sighed and said: "I can understand Su Xiangguo's mood. In fact, many people in the court are discussing this matter, which shows that King Chu's ascension to the throne is expected by the public, but I think the real decision-making power lies in the hands of His Highness King Chu.
Su Wei, don’t you think His Highness is not very keen on this matter?”
Su Wei was stunned, "What do you mean by Du Xiangguo's words? Why do you say His Highness is not enthusiastic?"
Du Ruhui said slowly: "Actually, I have been paying attention to His Highness the King of Chu's thoughts. If he really intends to ascend the throne, then he will definitely capture Luoyang and move the capital south. After all, Taiyuan is only the companion capital and is not as legitimate as Luoyang. But he is not
He had no intention of taking Luoyang, maybe he just needed it strategically, but I think any strategy can't compare to his desire to ascend the throne, which only shows that his intention to ascend the throne is not strong."
Su Wei also fell into deep thought. He had to admit that what Du Ruhui said made sense. If the King of Chu really wanted to ascend the throne, then taking Luoyang was inevitable, but the King of Chu did not...
"But just because His Highness the King of Chu did not capture Luoyang, I think he is too hasty to conclude that he has no intention of ascending the throne. Prime Minister Du, we should confirm with His Highness the King of Chu face to face."
Du Ruhui nodded, "It's up to me to confirm this!"
After a pause, he added with a smile: "Of course, I will convey Su Xiangguo's strong desire for him to ascend the throne to the King of Chu."
Su Wei squinted his eyes and laughed. They all said that Du Ruhui was not very understanding of the world. This was a fallacy!...
Yang Yuanqing's army has ended its campaign in the Central Plains. He appointed Xu Shiji as the commander-in-chief of Yingying's troops and horses, and led 50,000 troops to guard Yingchuan County. At the same time, he appointed Niu Jinda as the training envoy of the Central Plains regiment, recruiting 30,000 county soldiers in the Central Plains area. The rest of the army
They were stationed in Hedong and various places in Hebei. Yang Yuanqing led 30,000 elite troops back to Taiyuan by land.
The tens of thousands of captured Tang troops were temporarily placed in the fields in Hanoi County. These troops were all Guanzhong and Shu people. Yang Yuanqing would use these surrendered troops to exchange for food from the Tang Dynasty to solve the problem of food shortage in the Sui Dynasty.
That night, the Sui army returned to Taiyuan County and camped to rest by the Fenshui River, thirty miles away from Taiyuan City.
The moon was as round as a silver plate, spreading its bright light to the earth. The soldiers of the Sui army also put down thousands of shadow lamps in the Fen River to express their condolences for the fallen soldiers.
Yang Yuanqing stood on the shore and silently made a wish for rest to a huge water lotus lantern. He then took the torch and lit the fire oil pan in the water lotus lantern. The fire ignited, and several soldiers struggled to lift the water lotus lantern.
Pushing into the river, as the waves rise and fall, the water lotus lantern gradually floats towards the center of the river.
At this time, a cavalryman rushed from the camp and shouted loudly from a distance: "General Manager!"
"What's the matter?" Yang Yuanqing came up.
"Du Xiangguo is here, waiting for the manager in the big tent."
Yang Yuanqing nodded, walked quickly to the horse, got on the horse, urged the horse, and hundreds of guards followed him and ran towards the camp.
In the Chinese army's tent, Du Ruhui, accompanied by Li Jing, stood in front of the sand table, admiring the results of the Central Plains war.
Li Jing pointed to the south with a wooden pole in his hand and said: "In this battle of the Central Plains, except for Nanyang County, Xiyang County and Runan County, the other counties in the Central Plains were captured by the Sui army, especially Liang County.
Gradually withdraw, once the Wei army completely withdraws, Liang County will also be incorporated into the Sui territory."
Du Ruhui pondered for a moment and asked, "Why don't Nanyang County and Xiyang County take it?"
At this time, Yang Yuanqing's laughter came from behind him, "Those two counties are used as buffers. The Tang army cannot station troops, and we will not station troops. This is a compromise reached by Li Xiaogong and I."
Du Ruhui turned around and saw Yang Yuanqing walking in from outside the tent. Du Ruhui quickly bowed and saluted, "Your Majesty, Du Ruhui, is here to see His Highness the King of Chu!"
"Du Xiangguo has worked hard in running the government."
Yang Yuanqing walked forward with a smile, picked up the wooden pole and pointed it at Nanyang and Xiyang counties, and continued to explain to him, "These two counties are actually the same as Hongnong County. They are both crossed by Funiu Mountain. There are many mountains, insufficient cultivated land, and a small population.
It’s not much, the strategic value is not great, and I don’t want to directly border the Tang army, so I sent people to reach a temporary agreement with Li Xiaogong.”
After a pause, Yang Yuanqing continued: "Of course, if the Tang court refused to recognize these two counties as buffers, the Sui army would not hesitate to occupy them."
Du Ruhui nodded, "I understand what His Highness means, which is not to take Jing Xiang for the time being."
Yang Yuanqing smiled slightly, "Du Xiangguo's eyes are indeed bright. Now it is difficult for the court to afford large-scale battles. I plan to rest for a while and recharge my batteries. When the court's strength gradually becomes sufficient and the vitality of the Central Plains is restored, I will consider sending troops. First,
Destroy Dou Jiande."
Yang Yuanqing asked Du Ruhui to sit down and ordered his soldiers to serve tea. Li Jing knew that they had important matters to discuss, so he excused himself and left, leaving only Yang Yuanqing and Du Ruhui in the tent.
At this time, Du Ruhui pondered for a moment and said: "I came to see His Highness tonight because I have an important matter that I want to discuss with His Highness."
Du Ruhui looked into Yang Yuanqing's eyes and said slowly: "The Battle of the Central Plains is over. Has His Highness considered ascending the throne?"