Chapter 852 Luo Su sets the tone for the family!

Eight years of Daye!

The sun and the moon are dim, the sky is overturned, and endless darkness shrouds the vast land of Liaodong. The mountains are like the sea, and the setting sun is like blood, but it is not redder than the bright blood. The flags are raised high, and the swords are held in hand, but they cannot resist the urging of the Emperor of Heaven.

In front of the mountain city, corpses were scattered all over the ground. On the mountain road, flesh and blood turned into mud. Broken armor and weapons were scattered. The living could not see the road, and the dead could not close their eyes. There was only resentment, hatred, anger, and despair.

The wind from Liaodong could not blow away the blood and tears of the soldiers, but it could blow away the fighting spirit of those elite soldiers. In the deserted darkness, the corpses of hundreds of thousands of people were lying around and gathered high!

Zhuo County.

Yang Guang had lost all his former pride. He was like a wilted eggplant. All his lofty ambitions when he went to the expedition vanished at this moment. He rode in an extremely gorgeous and magnificent chariot on a sunny day and returned to Luoyang from Zhuojun.

The sacred city of Xia that he loved most.

His face was full of confusion and he was deeply puzzled.

He remembered what he had said when he went to war, "A million soldiers, wielding swords together, can flatten mountains, and throwing straw can fill the sea. How can a tiny country like Liaodong be able to defeat a million soldiers of the Great Sui Dynasty?"

In the face of his ministers' consolation, he said nothing; in the face of his ministers' accusations, he said nothing.

He had no energy.

With a sad look.

Instead of mourning for the soldiers who died in battle, he is mourning his own failure to achieve great things and his tragic defeat, which will cause his name to be nailed to the pillar of shame?

Luo Su had already anticipated Yang Guang's failure.

Luo Xuanjing said with sadness: "It is a pity for the soldiers who went to the battlefield and for the people of the world.

For Yang Guang, this may not be a bad thing. After experiencing this great defeat, he should wake up and face up to his own shortcomings.

The bandits, rebel armies, and heroes that have risen up all over the world, it is probably time to test who is the true dragon. "

Who in this world cannot fail?

Over the years, there have been countless words emphasizing the importance of suffering to people. Those are not really educating people about the necessity of suffering, but wise people, after seeing all kinds of things, have discovered that suffering, setbacks, and failures are inevitable in life. This is true for everyone from the emperor to the common people. All people can do is to become more courageous in the face of suffering, setbacks, and failures, and to climb higher peaks.

Yang Guang was a nobleman who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and his life was too smooth.

He is a poet full of romanticism. In his heart, there are only the clouds floating in the sky, the wind standing on the top of the mountain, the waves surging in the sea, and the great deeds of emperors recorded in history books.

The Book of Han records that "Xiaowen was intelligent when young and decisive when old. He ruled the country for forty years and was as accomplished as Kangxi and Zhao. Since the Three Dynasties, there has been no other emperor in China who was as prosperous as him."

"Book of Han: Annals of Emperor Xiaowu" records: "Emperor Xiaowu was a man of high talent and character. He unified the world with the Han Dynasty. His achievements were unparalleled. All those he conquered submitted to him, and he established the foundation for eternal rule."

"Book of Han: Chronicle of Emperor Xiaoxuan" records: "Emperor Xiaoxuan was wise and intelligent, and the fortune of the Han Dynasty was bright. He was a sage king bestowed by heaven. His achievements glorified his ancestors and his legacy benefited his descendants. The Yin Dynasty and Zhou Dynasty were incomparable. He could be called a revivalist."

How could Yang Guang not yearn for every word and sentence? He wanted to create a prosperous era that would surpass all previous and present times.

Which emperor would not want to leave behind a sentence in his name after his death: "He has the virtue to rule the world and the merit to bring peace to the world for all eternity"?

Among all the emperors of the Han Dynasty, this sentence is only mentioned in the biographies of four people, namely, Xiaowen, Xiaowu, Xiaoxuan and Guangwu. In the hearts of people all over the world, this sentence holds the highest status.

A poet cannot become the ruler of an empire!

Yang Guang, who had a smooth life, encountered an unprecedented failure. The source of his failure was that he could not correctly view this huge empire. The subjects all over the world hoped that Yang Guang could mature.

If he could issue an edict of repentance and admit to the world his mistake in conquering Liaodong, with the strong foundation of the Sui Dynasty, he would have countless opportunities to save this crisis-ridden empire and get the world back on track.

Rebellious armies and bandits like Dou Jiande will suffer unprecedented blows and then die in constant fear.

Luo Xuanye was driving quietly, Luo Xuanjing's words still lingering in his ears.

Luo Su looked at the green mountains and clear water outside the car window. How many corpses were buried in those lush green mountains?

How much blood is flowing in that clear water?

He can't count, he doesn't want to count, who can bring peace to the world?

Even the ancestor Su Wang has never done it.

Thinking about those things in vain will only cause your innocent conscience to continue to burn on the charcoal fire.

Luo Su touched his heart. It was really a luxury to be born in this world, to be at the highest level, to have a clear conscience.

He recalled Yang Guang's past and said calmly: "A Jing, do you know why truth is truth?

Because it is a precious thing that people need but most people don't have.

Encountering setbacks, rising from suffering, admitting failure, finding the cause, correcting it, and surpassing it is an extremely rare quality and ability, one in a million.

People who possess this ability will always have a chance to make a comeback.

Yang Guang, most of my low opinion of him comes from the fact that he does not have this ability to face setbacks. Otherwise, he would be just cruel, but he would not destroy the country. "

Luo Su's words shocked Luo Xuanye and Luo Xuanjing.

Luo Su leaned on the soft cushion without saying a word, and seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep. The car suddenly became quiet, terrifyingly quiet, and the atmosphere was solemn.

…

At the end of the eighth year of Daye, Yang Guang, who had been silent for several months, issued a prelude to war to the officials at the core of the empire in the court.

On the second day of the first lunar month in the ninth year of Daye, Yang Guang issued a conscription order to more than 190 counties across the country.

In the imperial edict, Yang Guang once again regained the spirit of the seventh year of Daye.

He issued a declaration of war to his subjects: "The Son of Heaven is entrusted with the control of the four seas and the dignity of the world.

Accepting the homage of the world, making the various states submit internally and the four barbarians pay tribute externally, this is the vastness that the Son of Heaven should have when obeying the order of God.

What do the saints say?

When the empire is governed by the Way, the rites, music, conquests and wars are decided by the Son of Heaven. Now that the empire is governed by the Way, the State of Liaodong is unable to discern the will of Heaven, has not been granted the power of conquest by the Son of Heaven, and has never been under the rule of the Son of Heaven.

Being willing to remain as a barbarian among the four barbarians and treating the Celestial Empire with arrogance is a manifestation of disrespect for God.

I am determined to pacify Liaodong Kingdom, even if I have to uproot the mountains and fill up the sea.

This is a major event in the world, a great cause that will last forever. All things are united as one, and the whole world is ruled by the Son of Heaven.

I have mobilized the people of the world so that all the ministers, officials, and people can share the glory of the world's eternal cause. You should admire it. "

In Luoyang Palace.

The bright moon fell in front of the hall. From afar, the cool moonlight streamed into the hall. With the wind, the shadows of the trees illuminated by the moonlight were swaying, like a beauty with her slender waist tightly bound.

The palace maids in the hall knelt quietly on both sides.

Yang Guang was not on the throne. He looked at the imperial edict in his hand. Every word and sentence was not written by the prime minister, but by him himself.

The words are gorgeous, and although it is clearly a cold decree, it has the beauty of literary poetry.

He held a sword in his hand, and was surrounded by bright decorations. Auspicious beasts were inlaid with gold, pearls and jade. On the pillars, countless Bodhisattvas and Buddhas looked at him with compassion, as if they were pitying him.

The candlelight shone on his face, tears welled up in his eyes, and he was dancing with a sword in the palace.

He was singing, drinking, and writing poetry. His whole body exuded gloom, but with each sword stroke, the gloom gradually dissipated.

"The autumn wind blows slowly, sweeping thousands of miles.

"Where can I go for thousands of miles? I will build a Great Wall across the desert."

He couldn't help but recall the poem he wrote when he defeated the Western Yan Kingdom, and how high-spirited he was at that time.

"Thousands of chariots and flags waved, and horses drank water at the Great Wall Cave.

In the autumn, clouds gather outside the Great Wall, and the moon shines over the mountains in the mist.

Riding on horses from Yuanyan Post Station, beacon fires were fired in the sky.

May I ask the Marquis of Changcheng, the Chanyu has come to the court to pay a visit.

The turbid air calms the Tianshan Mountains, and the morning light shines on the high towers. "

He sang, Empress Xiao responded to him, the musicians played string music and drums, Yang Guang threw the wine pot in his hand down, making a clanging sound, he staggered to Empress Xiao's side, snuggled into her arms, half awake and half drunk, asked: "Empress, do you think I can win a great victory this time and defeat Liaodong Kingdom?"

Empress Xiao gently stroked Yang Guang's cheek and forced a smile, saying, "Long live your majesty. You will surely win the battle. Your small country of Liaodong will surely be defeated."

Yang Guang laughed loudly upon hearing this, "Well said.

This time, I will let all the generals of the army lead their own troops, and we will surely be able to take it down in one battle. Liaodong is nothing to be afraid of. I will write the best poem of my life in Liaodong City, and use the heads of Liaodong people to forge the best crown.

I……"

He fell asleep, sleeping in the warmth and softness of the bed.

But people all over the world can't sleep.

There is a chasm like a natural moat between officials and the people of this world. When a tyrant is wreaking havoc on the country, the common people are naturally extremely miserable, but the same is not necessarily true for the officials.

Just like the construction of the Grand Canal and various civil engineering projects, most of the victims were civilians, and the officials were merely supervisors.

However, the conscription order from Luoyang made officials and people all over the world stand on the same front, and almost everyone had the same idea.

The war in the seventh year of Daye, which almost exhausted the national strength of the Sui Dynasty and almost depleted the granaries of the Sui Dynasty, had just ended not long ago. The corpses of hundreds of thousands of soldiers were still buried in the mountains and rivers of Liaodong, and the bodies of hundreds of thousands of heroes were still warm.

The whole world was shocked, the whole world looked at it with awe, and the whole world shed tears.

Millions of people are grieving the death of their loved ones, countless people on the verge of bankruptcy have not yet recovered from the pain of losing their ability to work, widows who have lost their husbands are struggling to survive with their babies, and elderly people who have lost their support are starving to death in a dilapidated thatched hut. The only things that accompany them are the cold wind, rain, and the icy winter.

The pain of the past has not yet been healed, and now, the emperor of the empire, the son of heaven of all China, the most supreme authority, is about to conscript his subjects once again. Is this emperor crazy?

Does he want to let all the tragedies happen again and let all the people in the world feel the pain of losing their loved ones? King, ministers, fathers and sons, where in the world can we find such a king and father?

Officials sent by the government to conscript soldiers and corvee labor were killed in the mountain villages. In the vast lands of Hebei and Shandong, those villages hidden in the mountains almost became a restricted area for the government, and no official dared to step into them.

The angry people tore off the clothes of the Sui Dynasty, and more and more people joined the ranks of resistance and rebellion. Facing the chaos in Hebei and Shandong, Yang Guang still acted as if he didn't care.

He never took these farmers who put down their hoes seriously.

Yang Guang knew that a few hundred people could chase and kill tens of thousands of peasant soldiers. If that was the case, then what was there to be afraid of?

…

Facing Yang Guang's edict, Luo Xuanye and Luo Xuanjing had already anticipated it because of Luo Su's analysis, but when they actually saw it, they still found it incredible.

"Grandfather, can Yang Guang win this time?"

Luo Su looked out the window and said calmly: "Who can tell the victory of a war?

The last failure was incredible, but reasonable.

The Sui Dynasty still has the upper hand this time, but with Yang Guang around, everything is unknown. "

"Grandfather, the most important thing in the world is the king, but if the king is unworthy, what should we do?

Those who go against the will of heaven and harm the people can naturally be killed.

But if it has not reached the point where it can be killed, what should we do?"

Luo Xuanjing looked at Luo Su and finally asked the question that he had been unable to find the answer to.

Luo Su fell silent after hearing this, and he was thinking about how to answer this question.

How difficult is it to maintain a clear conscience in politics?

That is almost impossible.

Because that requires fairness, and if you do things fairly, the results produced will be in line with your conscience.

But fair.

These two words are easy to say but difficult to do.

People are so different from each other that if two out of ten people have different opinions on a problem, it seems fair to follow the opinion of eight of them.

But is it really fair?

Two people’s opinions were taken away, what if their lives were taken away?

There are eight people left, five of them agree, and the remaining three will die.

Until there are only two people left, and the winner is decided, and life and death are determined, and there is only one person left in the world, then perhaps fairness will exist.

What is fair in governing a country?

Even Ji Zhao and Luo Su couldn't find the answer.

Whether there were innocent lives taken at the hands of these two people, the answer was yes; whether there was unjust blood shed, the answer was yes.

When ruling a vast dynasty, every decree will affect countless people, and it is impossible to achieve perfection.

What should we do then?

This was the most difficult question to answer of all the questions Luo Xuanjing had asked Luo Su.

This is the boundary between ideal and reality, and it is a big issue where to draw the line.

This is a major issue in the future when the Luo family and the dynasty are bound together, and it will depend on how they treat the royal family.

After a long silence, Luo Su said slowly: “Don’t demand the king based on personal morality, don’t judge the king for personal vengeance, only focus on major events that will affect the world, only focus on major events that will affect history and people’s hearts.

Whenever possible, we should do our best to advise the king on his moral character and make him behave properly. If the king makes a mistake and it does not affect the world, then it is a personal grudge between the king and his subjects and we do not pay attention to it.

Just like between King Jie of Zhou and his son, King Jie of Zhou violated what a king and a father should do, so his son killed him. History books should not disparage him. This incident had a very bad influence, so history books should still disparage King Jie of Zhou to correct people's hearts and tell the world who is right.

If King Jie of Zhou's son could not kill King Jie of Zhou, history books would still have to record that King Jie of Zhou was wrong. Right is right and wrong is wrong, but the operation of the country should not be affected by right or wrong.

If the king kills a minister who speaks out his advice, then the minister's son will be the king's enemy.

If killing the king will cause unrest in the world, then we, the Luo family, should not preside over this revenge, as it will be a personal vendetta.

The son of a minister is able to kill the king, and we praise his behavior.

If the king is like Yang Guang today, who has caused countless people in the world to fall into suffering and the brink of death, and his death will benefit the world too much, then he should be overthrown without hesitation. "

Luo Xuanjing and Luo Xuanye listened very carefully.

Luo Su explained it very clearly. After listening, Luo Xuanye didn't feel anything. He just nodded thoughtfully. Luo Xuanjing seemed to be hesitant to speak. Luo Su smiled slightly and asked, "Do you think it's too biased towards the king?"

Luo Xuanjing nodded hurriedly. Luo Su’s first sentence was that the king is the most important thing in the world. There is the crime of regicide in this world, but no one says anything about killing subjects.

According to what Luo Su said, the major events that affect the world are naturally almost all concentrated on the king.

Luo Su stroked Luo Xuanjing's little head and whispered, "Because this is the inevitable result of the emperor's autocracy in the world today.

If you want change, you have to find a better way to rule the empire.

But no.

In particular, what I am going to do requires an absolutely strong central government and an absolutely strong imperial power. This will not change in my time.

So changing these things in the future will be up to you.”

Luo Su always spoke in a gentle voice to the Luo family members, and it was no different now. However, Luo Xuanjing and Luo Xuanye heard a cold and iron tone in Luo Su's words just now.

At this moment, Luo Xuanjing understood why the ancestor could become the number one in the Luo family and why the ancestor Su Wang chose the ancestor to reincarnate to save the family.

Because although our ancestors had great love in their hearts, they were not subject to any moral criticism and did not have any moral burden.

He is the one who truly practices Luo's flexible bottom line, or in other words, he is the pioneer of this path of Luo.

He would never hesitate at all over some insignificant things.

Luo Xuanjing whispered in a low voice: "Grandfather, I understand."

Luo Su touched her head again and said softly, “It’s good that you understand.

It is not easy for you children to understand without the blessing of the Su Wang."

…

Just as Luo Su said, the national strength of the Sui Dynasty had an absolute advantage. Even if it was an expedition to Liaodong, with a population ten times greater, it would still be extremely difficult to fail.

The army was divided into several routes, one of which attacked PingN, attacking from several sides by land and sea, while the main force fiercely attacked Liaodong City, the first city of Liaodong State.

The Sui Dynasty deployed all kinds of siege equipment. Although Liaodong City looked impregnable, as long as Yang Guang continued to attack it at all costs, Liaodong City would definitely be in trouble.

On land, the Sui Dynasty also made a lot of progress. The reason why Liaodong Kingdom was able to survive for so long under the attack of the Sui Dynasty was that the mountain city was difficult to attack, and in terms of field battles, it was naturally inferior to the Sui Dynasty army.

The Sui Dynasty also had many talented generals. Lai Huer and others were all fierce generals. Compared with the first attack on Liaodong, although this time it was still in a stalemate, people with foresight saw the dawn of victory.

But there is no isolated thing in this world. Almost everything the emperor does will have a greater or lesser impact on the future.

Some things have a small impact, such as Yang Guang eating a vegetable today, but some things are big, such as Yang Guang issuing an imperial edict.

Yang Guang had the same problem as Yang Jian, which was suspicion.

In the view of the Legalists, this is the quality of an excellent king, but in reality the effect achieved is destructive.

He destroyed the political atmosphere.

This will cause the court to fall into a situation of battle royale. When the king is suspicious, the first thing the ministers have to do is to ensure that they are not suspected.

Ministers who already suspected that they were feared by the emperor had only two options: either rebel if they were capable, or wait for death if they were not capable.

Yang Xuangan.

As the son of Yang Su, one of the most prestigious nobles of the Sui Dynasty, he was undoubtedly the one capable of rebelling against Yang Guang. When he suspected that Yang Guang was afraid of him, he had prepared for this day.

Yang Guang also sent a great talent named Li Mi to Yang Xuangan.

Li Mi's background was no worse than that of the Sui Dynasty royal family, but his later circumstances were completely different.

Yang transformed his family into a country and became the emperor, truly reaching the pinnacle of his life.

However, Li Mi could only become Yang Guang's palace guard, and even lost this official position because of a casual remark made by Yang Guang.

It is foreseeable that the Yang family will prosper for hundreds of years, while the Li family will decline in just a few decades.

This is the charm of turning a family into a country.

When Yang Xuangan raised the banner of opposition to Yang Guang, the world was quiet!

…

After Yang Guang's repeated actions, the flames of war among righteous armies had already become widespread, but in the eyes of Yang Guang and many others, these were just robberies by thugs who had become desperate and crazy because of poverty.

These people are just entertaining themselves.

To some extent, Yang Guang's view was not wrong. These rebel armies seemed to be very powerful, but looking at the aristocratic families in the world, none of them stood on the side of these rebel armies.

The aristocratic families in the world were all trying hard to maintain the rule of the Sui Dynasty. To a certain extent, these people were loyal subjects of Yang Guang. Even though many families suffered heavy losses in Yang Guang's repeated expeditions to the east, the middle and upper classes of the empire never thought of abandoning the Sui Dynasty and starting a new one.

The aristocratic families who had experienced hundreds of years of chaos never wanted to go back to that chaotic world. Even if Yang Guang was messing around, at least this was a unified world with stable channels for upward mobility. They didn't have to live under the blade and live in fear. What else could they be dissatisfied with?

But now Yang Xuangan rebelled.

The son of Yang Su, a descendant of the founding father, he held the highest title among the officials of the Sui Dynasty, the first-rank Duke of Chu, second only to the first-rank prince.

From the second-rank honor to the highest-ranking honor of Zhuguo.

A first-rank civil official was given the title of Kaifu Yitong Sansi.

A first-rank military official, General of the Cavalry.

He also has the actual position of Minister of Rites. He is still young. As long as he develops step by step, it is very likely that he will retire as a first-rank official in the future.

How great his influence was in the political landscape of the Sui Empire can be seen from this series of official positions.

His rebellion shocked the upper, middle and lower classes of the Sui Empire.

The most feared was Yang Guang.

When the news of Yang Xuangan's rebellion reached Zhuo County from the Central Plains, he felt dizzy.

He angrily shouted to all the ministers who had accompanied him, "Yang Xuangan, you have the nature of a jackal, you deserve to be cut into pieces."

There was a strong tremor in his anger, which was a manifestation of his extreme guilty conscience.

In Yang Guang's view, unlike those peasants, if Yang Xuangan raised his hand, more aristocratic families might follow him.

Those bandits couldn't even persuade a county magistrate to surrender, but Yang Xuangan might be able to persuade more high-ranking officials in the empire to surrender.

He gave the order almost without hesitation, "Immediately order all troops to return to the Central Plains to quell the rebellion, capture and kill Yang Xuangan, I will never forgive him."

The war in Hebei and Shandong had been burning for several years, but Yang Guang didn't care. Yang Xuangan had just raised the banner of rebellion, and Yang Guang gave up the situation in Liaodong that had just improved and wanted to lead almost all the troops back to the Central Plains.

As it turned out, his worries were justified, and Yang Xuangan's rebel army advanced very smoothly.

There was almost no decent resistance.

Yang Guang urged the tens of millions of troops to Liaodong, and countless soldiers hurried back as soon as they entered Liaodong.

This hasty retreat naturally resulted in unimaginable casualties.

Compared with the casualties of the soldiers, the baggage that had no time to be taken away, the large amount of food and fodder that had just been piled up under the city, countless military supplies, and siege equipment all fell under the city of Liaodong.

Anyone can see that if these things remain here, Liaodong Kingdom will become even stronger, but Yang Guang no longer cares about that.

He wanted to put down Yang Xuangan's rebellion immediately and let all the aristocratic families see that the Sui Dynasty was still strong and they should not harbor any bad intentions.

Luo Su and his companions happened to walk near Luoyang, and then they heard the news that Yang Xuangan's army was heading towards Luoyang.

"Yang Xuangan is so stupid?"

————

The demise of a central empire is always accompanied by the following experience: the prestige of the empire's rulers declines significantly, and the prestige of the central court is not enough to calm the people's hearts.

Political prestige is a scarce commodity necessary for the operation of politics. In most cases, the founding monarch will maintain his political prestige by seizing military merits. In the middle period of the empire, the founding monarch will maintain his political prestige through grand ceremonies and strict order. When some monarchs realize that their political prestige is declining, they will use large-scale killings to replace the lack of political prestige with political fear, but political fear has huge negative effects. When fear can no longer deter, the empire will collapse in an instant.

Yang Xuangan's rebellion did not deal as much of a blow to the Sui Empire in terms of economics as the uprisings among the people, but it dealt a heavy blow to the political prestige of Emperor Yang of Sui and the stability of the central government of the Sui Empire. This damage forced Yang Guang to move forward again on the road to the collapse of the empire. - "The Rise and Fall of the Sui Empire"

(End of this chapter)