Gao Jiong was not only a man of great talent, but also a man of broad mind, keen to recommend talented people without asking for anything in return. He was very good at identifying people, and most of the talented people he recommended were able to achieve great success and become generals or ministers.
Yang Su was recommended by Gao Jiong to serve as an official in the court.
According to the "dual monarchy theory" of the aristocratic politics during the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Gao Jiong was Yang Su's "benefactor" and "sponsor". If Yang Su betrayed Gao Jiong, he would be despised by the world.
For example, Lü Bu during the Three Kingdoms period, he did not have an adoptive father in the official history, but he was an official appointed by Ding Yuan, and he killed Ding Yuan, his "sponsor", during his tenure, so he was despised by people at that time. Luo Guanzhong, the author of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, did not understand much about the officialdom of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and could not understand why others could find employers at will, but Lü Bu was scolded, so he added an "adoptive father" for Lü Bu.
After the turbulent times of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the "dual monarchy theory" had declined, and the connection between the officials who were recruited and the "promoters" had weakened. But even if we ignore tradition, Gao Jiong was grateful to Yang Su.
Gao Jiong never knew that it was Empress Dugu who disliked him, and Yang Su was so aggressive. So Gao Jiong always thought that it was Yang Su who made slanderous remarks to Emperor Wen of Sui, so he deeply disliked Yang Su's character.
After hearing about Yang Su's death, Gao Jiong thought about the time when he was despised by Emperor Wen of Sui, and he laughed so hard that he burst into tears.
He originally wanted to go to pay homage to Yang Su in person, but Gao Jiong's sons were worried that their father would laugh in front of Yang Su's spirit tablet, so they finally persuaded their father to stop and go to pay homage to Yang Su on Gao Jiong's behalf.
Gao Jiong was happy for only a few days when Li Xuanba hit him on the head with a heavy punch, making him see stars.
Gao Jiong was in a daze for a long time, looking at Li Xuanba who was still bowing.
He moved his lips and said, "Sit down. You are weak, don't fall."
A trace of guilt welled up in Li Xuanba's heart.
The teacher is a good person. He is not related to him, but he is very kind to him. What he is doing now is to deceive a gentleman.
But the guilt in Li Xuanba's heart was quickly wiped away, and he said with red eyes: "Yes, thank you, Teacher."
Gao Jiong poured a cup of warm water for Li Xuanba: "You shouldn't have told me that you have the power of prophecy."
Li Xuan said domineeringly: "I hesitated before, but I saw that Mr. Gao and Mr. Yuwen would be killed next year for discussing state affairs. Mr. Gao and Mr. Yuwen are my teachers, I can't remain indifferent."
Gao Jiong's hand trembled and the water spilled out: "Ah, is old Yuwen going to die too?"
Li Xuan said domineeringly: "…" Listening to Mr. Gao and Mr. Yuwen scolding each other every day, I really don't know whether their relationship is good or bad.
Li Xuan said domineeringly: "There is also He Ruobi, the Duke of Song."
Gao Jiong was more indifferent this time: "He...his mouth really brings trouble."
Li Xuanba said: "In addition to the three dukes, there are others. However, the Heavenly Book only records three people, and the others are classified as 'etc.'"
Gao Jiong asked: "The Book of Heaven?"
Li Xuanba hesitated for a moment, but still "confessed": "In fact, my predictions cannot be called predictions. Rather, if I have a close enough relationship with a person, the shadow of the Book of Prophecies will appear in front of me, and I can read out the future deeds of this person."
Gao Jiong said excitedly: "Could it be that Luo Shu has reappeared in the world?"
Li Xuanba knew that Gao Jiong would not doubt it. People in this era believed in prophecies too much.
Li Xuanba shook his head, hesitated for a moment, and said: "The book of prophecies is not called Luoshu, it is called..."
He paused, made a nervous expression, and whispered, "It's called The Book of Sui."
Gao Ying's excited expression froze: "What?"
Li Xuanba whispered, "The teacher's book of prophecies is, well, that, The Book of Sui: Biography of Gao Jiong."
Gao Ying: "…"
Li Xuanba's eyes were very pure and innocent.
Gao Jiong wiped the table quietly and asked, "Which volume? Which biography?"
Li Xuanba said: "Volume 41, Biography 6."
Gao Jiong twitched his lips and said, "Not bad, but where's that old man Yuwenbi?"
Li Xuanba said: "Volume 56, Biography 21."
Gao Jiong nodded with satisfaction: "He is only qualified for this position."
Now it was Li Xuanba's turn to be speechless. "Mr. Gao, do you still want to argue about this matter? What is there to argue about? Your status is much higher than Mr. Yuwen's."
Gao Jiong asked again: "Is it slandering the government, not treason?"
Li Xuan said domineeringly: "It's not a rebellion."
Gao Jiong's mouth twitched again: "If he wants to kill me and Yuwen Bi, he can even falsely accuse us of treason. Alas."
Li Xuanba was puzzled. How could it be okay to make a false accusation?
Seeing Li Xuanba's expression, Gao Jiong smiled bitterly and shook his head: "You don't understand."
Li Xuanba nodded: "Students don't understand."
Gao Jiong taught: "If you falsely accuse Yuwen Bi and me of treason, some people in the court may think that Yuwen Bi and I are indeed dissatisfied with Your Majesty, while others may think that Your Majesty is just afraid of me who has a past relationship with the former crown prince. Regardless of which view is taken, this unjust case will only be limited to us. It will not have much impact on the court. But slandering the government is different."
Li Xuanba thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty has used the crime of slandering the government to kill high-ranking officials in the court. The court officials have been convicted for their words. Will no one dare to speak up in the future?"
Gao Jiong sighed, "Yes. And your Majesty's reputation will also be damaged. The court and the people don't care that your Majesty excludes dissidents, but if your Majesty blocks the way for people to speak out, it will chill the hearts of wise men in the world, and the Great Sui will be in danger."
Li Xuanba didn't understand Gao Jiong's current lament.
Yang Guang was about to kill him, but what he cared about most was Yang Guang's reputation and the safety of the Sui Dynasty rather than himself and his family.
Is this noble?
He knew intellectually that some people were noble, but it was difficult for him to understand emotionally.
Gao Jiong sighed for a while, then asked: "In the heavenly book you saw... Oh, the Book of Sui, is there anything I said that made me guilty?"
Li Xuan said domineeringly: "It is cumulative. The teacher prevented Your Majesty from recruiting tens of thousands of musicians."
Gao Jiong said: "The Emperor Tianyuan of the Northern Zhou Dynasty died because of his love of music. The lesson of the past is right before our eyes."
Li Xuan said domineeringly: "Teacher, please suspend the construction of the Great Wall, the canal, and Tokyo."
Gao Jiong said: "The corvée is frequent, the people's livelihood is declining, and there is widespread resentment. I am afraid that the people will rebel."
Li Xuan said domineeringly: "The last straw was that your majesty treated Qimin Khan too well."
Gao Jiong sneered, "Although Qimin Khan is old, he has brought his sons to the Central Plains many times to gather information. Once he dies, his sons will be in their prime and familiar with the situation in the Central Plains. They will definitely become a great threat to the Central Plains."
Li Xuan said domineeringly: "The teacher complained that the court's discipline has been in chaos recently."
Gao Jiong said, "Isn't it? The ministers in the court only know how to flatter Your Majesty, and whoever is the best at flattering will be in power. Yang Su is fine, at least he has some skills. Yuwen Shu knows nothing about military affairs, but he is the most trusted general of Your Majesty. If the war on the border breaks out again, will you let Yuwen Shu, a mediocre person, lead the troops?!"
Li Xuanba lowered his eyes and said, "Teacher is right."
Gao Jiong closed his eyes and choked up, "But Your Majesty won't listen."
The teacher and student remained silent for a long time.
Gao Jiong opened his eyes and said, "Can you see how long the fortune of the Sui Dynasty will last?"
Li Xuanba said: "Teacher, do you really want to know?"
Gao Ying said, "I want to."
Li Xuan said domineeringly: "The prosperity of the Great Sui Dynasty will last less than 20 years. But I cannot tell you what will happen next, because after the Great Sui Dynasty there will be a unified dynasty lasting 300 years, and China will return to its heyday. So I cannot let the teacher stop the heyday from coming."
Gao Ying: "…"
Gao Jiong got up, walked to Li Xuanba, pressed Li Xuanba's shoulder and said, "What? The prosperous era will come in twenty years?!"
Li Xuanba: "…Yeah."
Gao Jiong looked at Li Xuanba's expression carefully.
Li Xuanba looked Gao Jiong in the eye without fear.
Gao Jiong hesitated for a moment and said, "What burden does reading the heavenly book put on your body?"
Li Xuan said domineeringly: "Doctor Sun said that I would not live to be twenty years old. But now Doctor Sun said that my health is much better."
He stretched out his hands, looked at his young palms, and said calmly: "Maybe I can live past twenty, but I will be sickly all my life. Every year I live is a gift from God."
Gao Ying said with a distressed look in his eyes: "If you make too many predictions, it will definitely put a burden on your body."
Li Xuan said domineeringly: "I could die at any time anyway, so this burden doesn't matter to me. Compared to the punishment from heaven, the human disaster after the prophecy is exposed is the most terrifying."
Gao Ying frowned and said, "Since you knew it, you shouldn't have told me."
Li Xuanba said seriously: "Teacher, my life is like a candle in the wind, which may go out at any time. If you can be saved, my life will not be in vain. Unfortunately, I have thought about it for a long time and can't think of how to save you. I can only tell you about my future. I am really sorry for causing you a lot of trouble."
Gao Jiong rubbed Li Xuanba's head and said, "How can you add more trouble to me?"
He kept rubbing Li Xuanba's head, rubbing the little disciple's head little by little, with a look of great pity in his eyes.
Children don't lie unless someone teaches them to lie. And what Li Xuanba said now was something that others wouldn't even dare to tell.
The Sui Dynasty was now in its heyday, but who could have imagined that it would collapse in just twenty years?
But Gao Jiong believed in Li Xuanba's judgment.
Because he himself judged that if the current emperor continued to be so incompetent and unjust, chaos would befall the world sooner or later.
After the Han Dynasty, there was no unified dynasty in the world. Even the Jin Dynasty was in danger from the very beginning.
After that, during the chaotic period of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, dynasties changed so quickly that Gao Jiong alone had experienced the coexistence of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Northern Qi Dynasty, the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and the Sui Dynasty. The changes in the Southern Dynasties were even more frequent.
Therefore, even though the Sui Dynasty has unified the world again, no one is optimistic about how long it can last.
Under this premise, most of the nobles would only want to please the emperor and seek benefits for their own families, and would not think about supporting the country and ensuring the people's well-being.
Gao Jiong asked: "Will the world really be unified quickly in twenty years, and then there will be a prosperous era of three hundred years?"
Li Xuanba shook his head: "It's not a three hundred year prosperity, it's a nearly three hundred year unification. The exact number is more than two hundred and eighty years, but the prosperity was only more than one hundred and thirty years."
Gao Jiong laughed and said, "A hundred years of prosperity! This dynasty is as powerful as the Han Dynasty!"
Li Xuanba nodded: "Yes."
Gao Jiong said: "I am already old. If I don't live to see that day, please tell me who will create a prosperous dynasty before I die."
Li Xuanba nodded vigorously: "Okay. Then teacher, have you figured out how to survive this disaster?"
Gao Ying smiled and said, "I haven't thought about it yet."
Li Xuanba was puzzled: "Then why are you laughing, teacher?"
Gao Jiong patted his disciple on the head and said, "I heard that the prosperous times will come in twenty years. Why don't you laugh? Great Master, don't tell this to others in the future. Oh, why don't you tell your father?"
Li Xuanba said with a straight face: "Father is not doomed to die. For most people, knowing the future is not a good thing, but a burden. If I really couldn't figure out how to save the teacher, I wouldn't tell the teacher."
Gao Jiong smiled and sighed, "That's true. Don't tell Yuwen Bi. He is too fragile and too loyal to the Sui Dynasty to listen to this. Fortunately, I am the one you told."
Li Xuanba thought to himself, Mr. Yuwen had also served as an official in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, how loyal could he be to the Sui Dynasty?
He was not a loyal minister to the Sui Dynasty, but he was a loyal minister who was willing to risk his life to advise the Sui emperor.
Gao Jiong sighed for a long time. He knew that he was going to die and had no idea how to escape this dead end, but his face was full of smiles.
Li Xuanba was almost unable to pretend anymore. This was totally beyond his expectations.
Li Xuanba originally thought that Gao Jiong would definitely panic and question, and then he could induce Gao Jiong to follow his own rhythm and help him complete some arrangements.
Although Gao Jiong is now feared by Yang Guang, his position in the court is still there. Before Yang Guang takes action, Gao Jiong can do many things.
Unexpectedly, Mr. Gao not only did not question himself, but also smiled and did not mention how to avoid death. How could Li Xuanba continue to speak?
"Disciple won't tell anyone else. But teacher, you'd better think of a solution quickly. This is a disaster that will destroy our entire family." Li Xuanba pretended to cry in anxiety.
Gao Jiong smiled and wiped Li Xuanba's tears with his sleeves: "Why are you in such a hurry? This will only happen next year. I cannot change what I have done, and I am not sure how I will do what I have not done yet. We will talk about it when the time comes. But I can talk to that old man Yuwenbi and ask him not to gossip in private. Be careful."
Li Xuanba: "…" This really doesn't fit in.
In fact, what he said to Gao Jiong was half true and half false. Gao Jiong and Yuwen Bi were indeed convicted for their words, but the last straw was not their admonition, but their gathering to complain privately after their admonitions failed many times.
It was probably just a few old men who were drinking and eating meat together and complaining a few words, then they were reported and beheaded for slandering the government.
This was actually more explosive than being convicted for giving advice and being rejected. The conviction of several people not only proved that Yang Guang was a person who could not listen to advice, but also proved that Yang Guang secretly monitored his ministers. Not only did the ministers not dare to give advice, but they could be killed even if they complained at home.
The troubles in the court of Daye had already begun to emerge in the third year of Daye when Gao Jiong, Yuwen Bi and He Ruobi slandered the court.
After that, Yang Guang became very quiet and acted more and more recklessly.
However, if there had been no case of "slandering the court", Yang Guang would still have acted recklessly, it was just that a different group of people gave him advice.
Li Xuanba's "spoiler" will have no impact on the future at all.
Gao Jiong was already sixty-five years old, and there was no guarantee that he would live to see the establishment of the Tang Dynasty and be employed by his second brother.
Li Xuanba's purpose in revealing Gao Jiong's secret was not only to lure Gao Jiong into cooperating with him and doing something about Jingzhao Wei, but also to make Gao Jiong closer to himself and his second brother. In this way, if Gao Jiong could die of old age normally, his network of contacts would not wither because of being killed, and could be inherited by himself and his second brother.
Gao Jiong and Yuwen Bi were both great Confucian scholars from non-aristocratic families, and they represented the civil officials among the nobles of the Northern Dynasties. Since the nobles of the Northern Dynasties were basically military generals, the people around them were basically scholars from humble backgrounds.
Gao Jiong and Yuwen Bi were also very generous. They often taught others the Confucian classics with their own annotations, unlike other noble families who kept the annotated classics handed down from their families as treasures. Poor scholars basically used the Confucian classics annotated by these two people.
After Li Xuanba printed the Confucian classics annotated by the two men, it can be said that these two people were the teachers of Confucianism for poor scholars all over the world.
It was enough for his brother to suppress the group of military merits. Who had greater merit in conquering the world than his brother? His brother was the first military merit, and other generals were eclipsed and dared not disobey.
The influence of their ancestors on the aristocratic families is the "right to annotate the classics." They are not only powerful families, but also academic powerhouses.
To suppress military honors, a greater military honor is needed; to suppress the academic cliques, other academic cliques are also needed.
Li Xuanba is in trouble.
Mr. Gao doesn't follow the routine, how can I continue this play?
Gao Jiong has calmed down from the shock. He cares about Li Xuanba's health again, carefully plans for him how to hide the ability of "prophecy", and once again teaches Li Xuanba not to show his ability to others easily.
"You were right not to tell Li Yuan. Although you respect your father very much, Li Yuan, although a good man, is indecisive, gullible, and not as broad-minded as he appears. He can't keep this secret." Gao Jiong spoke ill of Li Yuan in front of Li Xuanba without any hesitation.
Li Xuanba could only kowtow and say, "I cannot listen to this."
Gao Ying said, "Just pretend you didn't hear me. I'm going to say mine."
Li Xuanba pretended to smile bitterly.
Gao Jiong asked: "Does Daxiong know your secret?"
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Li Xuan said domineeringly: "Second brother knows."
Gao Jiong smiled and said, "Your second brother is no ordinary person. Twenty years later, he will be in his prime and will definitely occupy an important position in the new dynasty."
Li Xuanba nodded. "Oh, yes, yes, you are absolutely right. He is the emperor now, and his position in the new dynasty is very important."
After Gao Jiong finished his lecture, he stood up and took Li Xuanba to find Li Shimin.
Since all the disciples have come, no matter what shocking things happened today, Gao Jiong has to teach the lessons and assign homework.
Li Shimin was playing Cuju with Gao Biaoren, the third son of the Gao family, and was tested by Gao Jiong to recite while looking confused.
Gao Jiong rolled up the book and hit his disciple's head hard: "Can you learn from your brother and study hard?"
Li Shimin did not dare to dodge, and could only hold his head and said: "I really studied hard, and I could recite it. But I forgot it while playing Cuju just now. Teacher, don't be angry, let me think about it, I will figure it out soon."
He signaled to Li Xuanba with his eyes: Brother, help me!
Li Xuanba pretended not to see it.
Li Shimin shouted in his heart: [Help! ]
Li Xuanba not only pretended not to see it, but also took a step back.
Li Shimin couldn't believe it: "Ah Xuan...Ah! Teacher, please stop hitting me! I will take the small stick, but I will run away if I get the big stick! Teacher, you hit me so hard, I ran away!"
After saying this, Li Shimin ran away with his head in his hands and hid behind Gao Biaoren.
Gao Jiong held his hand high in the air, unable to believe that his disciple dared to run away after being scolded.
Just run, he still argued!
Li Xuanba covered his mouth with both hands: "Puchi."
Gao Biaoren laughed dryly and said, "Don't hide behind me! I can't stop you!"
Li Shimin: "Just hide for a while, don't be so stingy!"
Gao Biaoren: "Can I be called stingy?!"
Gao Ying snorted coldly and said, "Come here!"
Li Shimin held his head and moved in front of Gao Jiong in small steps, shrinking his head and thinking: "Teacher, please stop hitting me. If you hit me again, I will really not remember it. Ah Xuan once said that children's heads should not be hit. If you hit them too much, they will become stupid. Is that right, Ah Xuan?"
Li Xuanba suppressed his laughter and said, "Yes, that's why mother only spanked my second brother."
Li Shimin jumped up and down: "Ah Xuan!"
Gao Jiong couldn't help it, and tapped Li Shimin's shoulder with the scroll: "Copy it ten times."
Li Shimin breathed a sigh of relief: "Yes, teacher."
Gao Jiong took Li Shimin and Li Xuanba back to study.
Li Shimin turned around and made a face at Gao Biaoren, whispering, "Next time I will make you lose miserably... Oh, teacher, I promised not to knock on your head."
Gao Jiong looked at Li Shimin with ill intentions and made a more rigorous teaching plan in his mind.
Since he knew that Li Shimin would emerge in the prosperous court twenty years later, he had to give Li Shimin more homework.
He had not been too strict with Li Shimin before because the current emperor was not a broad-minded person and might not tolerate too outstanding people. Moreover, Li Shimin was only the second son of the Duke of Tang, and his title was inherited by his elder brother Li Jiancheng. No matter how powerful he was, he could not surpass Li Jiancheng.
But the new dynasty was different. From the chaotic times to the prosperous times, there must have been many opportunities to make contributions. It was possible that Li Shimin could earn himself an official position and title that was more powerful than Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng.
As for Li Xuanba, Gao Jiong had no intention of being harsh.
Li Xuanba's own attitude towards study was already very correct, and he did not need anyone to urge him. He was very weak, and with such a great supernatural power, Gao Jiong was only worried about Li Xuanba's life span.
As the sky gradually darkened, Li Shimin dragged his tired body, sobbing softly as he went home with Li Xuanba.
Li Xuanba took out a piece of preserved fruit and stuffed it into his brother's mouth: "Stop pretending to cry."
Li Shimin chewed on preserved fruit, his mouth pouting so much that a wine pot could hang from it: "Why do I have twice as much homework as you? This is not fair!"
Li Xuan said domineeringly: "This is retribution for your recent neglect of studies."
Li Shimin: "Humph!"
He stuffed all the preserved fruit into his mouth, swallowed it, licked his lips, and stretched: "What's your plan?"
Li Xuanba switched to heart sounds: [Spoiler: Mr. Gao will be killed for his words next year, and the Sui Dynasty will perish within 20 years. Mr. Gao is very calm, which is totally unconventional... Why are you covering your ears again? ]
Li Shimin smiled bitterly: "Ah Xuan, you haven't even told me about this."
Li Xuanbadao: [Ah, didn't I say that? ]
Li Shimin shook his head vigorously.
Li Xuanbadao: [That's because I'm worried about adding psychological burden to you. ]
Li Shimin covered his ears and shook his head up and down and left and right: "Then why are you telling me now?"
Li Xuanba gave Li Shimin a speechless roll of his eyes: [You are the one asking. ]
Li Shimin screamed "Ahhhhhh" softly a few times, then put his hand down wilfully: "What do you want Mr. Gao to do?"
Li Xuanba: [I want Mr. Gao to cooperate with me and have a conflict with Wei in the court. The prince will definitely mediate, and Mr. Gao will take the opportunity to confess his crime to His Majesty and request to resign from office and retire due to old age and illness.]
Li Shimin pinched his chin and said, "Mr. Gao has resigned, so they must also resign or demote one or two people. Wow, in this case, the Wei family can only suffer in silence. But Ah Xuan, how are you going to make Mr. Gao and the Wei family conflict? There must be a reason for Mr. Gao and the Wei family to conflict."
Li Xuanba: [There are many reasons. Wei is also a flatterer. ]
Li Shimin shook his head: "Ah Xuan, I am not talking about the reason why Mr. Gao impeached Wei, but the reason why Mr. Gao cooperated with you and had to choose Wei as his target. Mr. Gao is very friendly with the prince, why would he impeach the princess's family?"
Li Xuanba: "…"
Li Shimin was puzzled: "Brother, you didn't think about it, did you?"
Li Xuanba's eyes wandered.
Li Shimin pressed his hands on his cheeks and opened his mouth wide: "Oh my God, you really didn't think about it."
Li Xuanba: "…"
Now it was Li Xuanba's turn to hold his head in his hands.
He was thinking about how to shock Mr. Gao, and then guide Mr. Gao to impeach Wei, put on a show with the prince, and then take advantage of the situation to retreat.
But... yeah, how can he bring this incident directly to Wei Shi, instead of impeaching someone else? Impeaching someone else and then resigning is a good idea, but why impeach Wei Shi?
Li Xuanba fell on the seat with his head in his hands, feeling extremely embarrassed.
He was so confident in setting a trap, but the rope of the trap was broken from the beginning?
Li Shimin sighed with an air of maturity and said, "Ah Xuan, we are still young, how can we possibly plot against someone as powerful as Mr. Gao? You'd better not do such things in the future. If you want to do it, please discuss it with me first. Our combined ages are barely... well, barely close to the age of twenty, and maybe we can fight with other adults."
Li Xuanba was even more embarrassed. The soul inside him was not that of a seven-year-old child.
Well, although this person who had worked hard at the bottom of society in his previous life was smart, he still had a lot of things to learn when it came to court struggles.
…
What Li Xuanba did not expect was that when he thought this plan had failed, Gao Jiong and Yuwen Bi actually attacked Wei at the same time.
The reason they impeached Wei was that Wei had prevented them from printing the Confucian classics and had spread rumors privately, saying that the Confucian classics could only be copied, which was the way to respect the sages. Printing the Confucian classics was an insult to the words of the sages. Therefore, all printed copies of the Confucian classics should be burned.
In fact, the Wei family was not the only family that was secretly dissatisfied with Gao Jiong and Yuwen Bi for printing and selling their annotated Confucian classics, but Gao Jiong and Yuwen Bi only chose the Wei family.
Obviously, this was Gao Jiong trying to show goodwill to Li Xuanba and help his disciple step on Wei.
Gao Jiong and Yuwen Bi petitioned Yang Guang.
"The sage has three thousand disciples, including common people. The sage's wish is not to keep his words on the shelf, but to educate the world."
"In the past, the words of the saints were engraved on bamboo slips and wooden tablets, and later they were written on paper. There were great scholars who traveled the world, using tree branches as pens and mud as paper to educate the ignorant people."
"When your majesty first ascended the throne, you restored learning throughout the country, emphasized trust and friendship, encouraged orthodox teachings, and revived the teachings of the sages."
"If the Confucian classics could be printed, all the poor scholars in the world would be able to read them and praise your majesty's virtues. Your majesty would be like a saint reborn!"
"The Wei family is blocking this move. Do they want to repeat the act of abolishing all schools in the world?"
"Your Majesty, I ask that you publish the Confucian classics in your Majesty's name, teach the people, and promote the culture and education of our Great Sui Dynasty!"
Yang Guang was deeply shocked after reading the joint memorial submitted by Gao Jiong and Yuwen Bi.
He said to Empress Xiao in disbelief: "These two old men actually praised me as a saint?!"
Empress Xiao smiled and said, "The last emperor abolished all schools in the world, but your Majesty rebuilt them as soon as he ascended the throne. To all scholars in the world, you are certainly a saint."
Yang Guang sighed and said, "These two old men have slandered me quite a bit. I didn't expect that in this matter they would actually say that I am a saint."
Empress Xiao was at a loss whether to laugh or cry at the emperor's repetitive mumbling.
Yang Guang said: "But what these two old men said is very right. I want to educate the people of the world, and this printing technology is indeed very useful. I remember that the prince once mentioned it?"
Empress Xiao said, "This matter was indeed initiated by the Crown Prince. He asked Li's Second and Third Brothers to conduct the experiment under the pretext of children playing."
"Since Wei can't win over the Duke of Tang's mansion, he resorts to such a trick?" Yang Guang snorted coldly, somewhat dissatisfied with the crown prince. "It has long been said that Zhao'er is indecisive and soft-hearted, and this is also the case. A pilot project? If this printing technology is really useful, all the Confucian classics in the world's schools can be printed. He advises me to save money every day, so won't this save a lot of money?"
Empress Xiao sighed inwardly and responded, "Yes."
Yang Guang said, "Those two old men asked me to open my collection of books and compile a book that brings together the world's rare books, and print more copies. This is exactly what I had planned before. I didn't expect that they would have the same idea as me."
Empress Xiao said, "Why not agree to their request and let them revise the book? This way they won't bother Your Majesty anymore."
Yang Guang's eyes lit up: "That makes sense!"
Empress Xiao was relieved when she saw Yang Guang agreed.
She thought about the private letters from Gao Jiong and Yuwen Bi asking for her help.
Empress Xiao had always known that the emperor wanted to kill Gao Jiong and Yuwen Bi. Although she thought it was inappropriate, she did not dare to advise him. Now that the situation was favorable, these two old ministers probably would not have to die.
Empress Xiao did not expect that Gao Jiong and Yuwen Bi would come to her for help.
Gao Jiong and Yuwen Bi were very tough people. The emperor wanted to kill them just because he knew them well and thought they would continue to slander the government.
Unexpectedly, they actually began to think of retreating and trying to please the emperor.
After being excited, Yang Guang also realized the two old ministers' intention to curry favor with him.
He said, "Perhaps they saw Yang Su's death and became afraid. Humph, they seem stubborn, but they are just cowards. Forget it, I will let them go to revise the book."
Empress Xiao said, "Your Majesty is wise."
…
Li Shimin was stunned: "Ah, it actually went according to your plan. Ah Xuan, are you hiding something from me?"
Li Xuanba shook his head vigorously.
I was shocked too!