The emperor leaned on the seat, resting his chin with one hand and listening to Fang Jie's story of the trip. Fang Jie tried not to mention his worries about the emperor's health, because he knew that even if he didn't mention the emperor, he would understand what he was thinking. And when it comes to why this decision was made, it goes back to the secret letter that Luo Weiran and Wu Yidao sent people all the way to him. Fang Xie was unwilling to tell these things. It's not a good thing, and it's not a good thing for him either. Forming a party for personal gain... This is what the emperor taboos the most.
The emperor seemed very interested when he heard Liu Han, the guard who met Fang when he explained Fengcheng.
"It's a pity for such an official."
The emperor said softly and somewhat helplessly: "According to the national law, surrendering to rebellion for any reason is an unforgivable capital crime. But I also know that officials like Liu Han are certainly not rare in the Northwest. Da Sui. But if you know it, you know it, and I have no reason to forgive their sins. There are some mistakes, and you can’t be forgiven if you know how to correct them.”
Fang Jie knew that the emperor was right, there must be many officials like Liu Han in the Northwest, but this was not the reason why they would be pardoned. What Fang Jie could do was to let the emperor know that there were such a group of officials in the northwest, and they had to become Li Yuanshan's subordinates for various reasons.
The best result is that the family members of these people are exempted from criminal responsibility.
"You handled the matter of finding Liangbi well."
The emperor was silent for a while and said: "The reason why I kept him in the prison for more than ten years and never used it is because I know his character well. If it weren't for the fact that I didn't want to use people in the court at that time, I wouldn't have released him from the prison." It’s just that there’s no other choice.”
Fang Xie understood this sentence.
From the beginning of the Western Expedition, the emperor actually didn't want to use people from the court, and he didn't use any of the court officials who were in power at that time. Xu Jun Wang Yang Kai, Mou Liangbi, Zong Lianghu, these people can actually be classified as people outside the imperial court, they have no relationship with any interest faction in the imperial court.
Thinking of this, Fang Jie suddenly felt a little ridiculous.
Civil and military officials, so many court officials, the emperor did not trust a single one. The Western Expedition was handed over to Yang Kai, king of Xujun, but it was a pity that the success fell short because of Li Yuanshan's rebellion. The counter-insurgency was the emperor's personal conquest, and most of them carried bravery that did not belong to any faction of interest. These recruits were only loyal to the emperor.
Even so, the emperor did not intend to let go of those officials who had been the pillars of the Sui Dynasty. The murder in Haoran Palace made anyone who knew about it feel chilly.
Fang Jie lowered his head and said, "I should not have murdered Liang Bi."
The emperor glanced at him: "You shouldn't have murdered Liangbi, but you did. You shouldn't have killed Li Yuanshan, but you still did. You know what's right and what's wrong, but you always make A choice that makes people feel uncomfortable. Fang Jie... Your greatest strength is that you are decisive enough, and your biggest shortcoming is that you are decisive enough. You dare to do what others dare not do. Dare to dare to say what others dare not to say... Who gave it to you Such courage?"
"you."
Fang Jie answered.
The emperor was slightly taken aback, then couldn't help but shook his head and smiled: "You mean, if you have the biggest backer in the world, you will have no scruples?"
"What I mean is that I have the biggest backer in the world, so as long as I do things that are beneficial to the court and beneficial to His Majesty, I don't have any scruples."
"sophistry."
The emperor glared at him: "I allow you to be presumptuous because I know you have no dissent. But if you don't behave yourself in the future, I won't be able to rely on my backer."
"I don't dare, but I think that if there are more officials like this in the world, with His Majesty as the backer, great rule will not be far away."
"You don't blush when you praise yourself like that?"
asked the emperor.
Fang Jie smiled sarcastically: "To be honest, don't blush..."
The emperor laughed, and his mood seemed to really open up. Su Buwei looked at the young man sitting on the chair with his body bent down, with a smile on his face. It had been too long since anyone could make the emperor laugh so heartily. Although he knew that the emperor didn't really trust this young man completely, he could tell that the emperor really liked this guy. Even Su Buwei now feels that this guy is really cute.
"Since you only tell the truth in front of me, then I ask you..."
The emperor looked at Fang Jie: "What do you think about the sudden attack by Kuoketai and Menglie against Luo Yao? I know that there are many people discussing in private, saying that I shouldn't join forces with the Mengyuan barbarians. Doing so is a betrayal." I violated the rules of my ancestors, and I also lost the face of the Sui court... Fang Jie, what do you think?"
As soon as he asked this question, Fang Xie felt a layer of cold sweat break out on his back.
…
…
Fang Xie was silent for a long time and did not answer the emperor's words, but the emperor seemed not at all anxious and just watched him quietly waiting for his reply. Maybe it was only a few minutes, but in Fangjie it felt like centuries. There was no way to answer the question the emperor threw him, because it was not a question with a correct answer.
"I... don't know."
The emperor shook his head: "After holding it in for a long time, you finally uttered three words. You really let me down."
Fang Jie raised his head and said seriously: "I don't know, it's not that I don't know how the people below this matter are talking about it, and it's not that I don't know the impact of this matter. I don't know, but I don't know why His Majesty made such an arrangement. The reason why I don't know is because Because I'm stupid. But I know one thing... In the whole world, there is no one who loves Sui more than Your Majesty. In the whole world, there is no one who values people's hearts more than Your Majesty. So I also know that no matter what the people below say, Your Majesty is right about this."
The emperor was slightly taken aback, and couldn't help laughing: "This is the most intimate flattery I've heard these days."
"What the minister said is the truth."
Fang Jie answered.
The emperor nodded: "There is no one in the world who loves Sui more than I do, and no one in the world cares more about the hearts of the people than I do. This sentence is well said and true, so I am very pleased to hear it."
He stood up and waved his hands to signal that he didn't need Su Buwei to help him.
"Everything I do is for the great Sui Dynasty. Every decision I make is for the sake of the country. The people below talk nonsense because they don't understand me. So they are not as good as you, even though you don't understand me either. , but you know that a courtier should trust the emperor's decision."
Fang Jie didn't speak, but just listened quietly with his head down.
"Li Yuanshan put Meng Yuan barbarian into my home three years ago, thinking he had borrowed the most powerful knife. Three years later, I stabbed more than one person's ambition to death with this knife, why should I explain? Those bastards at the Yushitai really thought that I could be unscrupulous if I said that I was not guilty. Yesterday there was a Yushi named Xu Qian who knelt outside and kowtowed, and his face was covered with blood. Guess he What do you want me to do?"
Fang Jie shook his head.
"He asked me to abdicate, saying that I was sorry for my ancestors. If I don't abdicate, he will die outside."
The emperor didn't seem to be angry, but just smiled: "So I followed his wish and let him die outside. Some people dared to speak out because they also loved Da Sui and didn't want me to make mistakes. Some people dared to say, It’s for the sake of gaining fame and acting independently to show my ridiculous and shameful so-called courage. I’m not so sick that I can’t see who’s thinking clearly, and I will have my own judgment on what I do today.”
There is indeed such a group of people in this world who cheat for fame and wealth by doing some so-called courageous things.
There are people like this in every era.
Fang Jie bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty wants to kill him, he will definitely express that he is not afraid, and then he will heartbrokenly say that he is a loyal minister but cannot continue to be loyal to the country, but he died well. If he is a little more stupid, he will still point at him. You yelled at me, right... I think this kind of person can't be killed casually..."
The emperor frowned: "You said he shouldn't be killed?"
Fang Jie said: "What I mean is that you should not kill casually. If you tell him to kill him, he will feel great. Even if you tell him to implicate the Nine Clans, he doesn't care, because he only cares whether it will attract people or not." Others praise him. He will not take his own life or the lives of his relatives very seriously, but he will definitely take his reputation very seriously, so you can tell him before killing him After his death, he will be accused of being a spy in Mengyuan. He doesn't care about the lives of himself and his relatives. He thinks that even if they all die, they will die well. The life and death of his wife and children are just tools to fulfill his reputation. He must have cried bitterly and begged His Majesty to forgive him, saying that he knew he was wrong."
The emperor hummed: "That's what I did, and that's how he reacted."
"pretty… "
Fang Jie said two words in a low voice.
"Just now you said he was an idiot?"
asked the emperor.
Fang Jie smiled embarrassingly, but did not dare to answer.
"This is a good word. Although I heard it for the first time, I understood it as soon as I heard it."
Fang Jie: "..."
…
…
The emperor stood at the gate of the imperial chariot with his hands behind his back, looking at the clear sky outside: "Sooner or later, you will understand my painstaking efforts about the Mengyuan barbarian. Kuoketai Mengge is a smart man, smarter than I imagined. Ambitious A wise person will not remain silent forever, I really want to have a chat with this person again in my lifetime."
Fang Xie seemed to understand this sentence but didn't understand it.
"You killed Li Yuanshan, and some people are very resentful."
The emperor changed the subject, as if he didn't want to say anything more about the Mongolian people.
Fang Jie nodded: "I guessed it."
"Well... They fought so hard and desperately for more than a year, and when they came out of the sea of blood, and finally the credit was taken away by you, it is inevitable that there will be resentment. No matter what, I have to take care of their emotions, after all, they are right. There are people who made great contributions in the Sui Dynasty. I also owe them a lot, and I still have to give them the rewards they deserved if they didn't die on the battlefield."
"I understand."
"Go back and bring your black flag to kill the wolf army."
The emperor waved his hand and said: "I don't have time to pay attention to any squabbles. I want to live a good life in the next few days. If it ruins my good mood, I will avoid it if I can."
"There is only one way for Mongolian people to go back to the prairie."
said the emperor.
When he said this, he glanced at Fang Xie.
Fang Jie shook his head: "Not anymore."
The emperor seemed very satisfied with hearing what he wanted to hear: "I will not let you hunt down Li Xiaoche's remnant soldiers. I know you want to take this job. Jin Shixiong also told me that you are the most suitable candidate, but I I think there is another errand that is more suitable for you. Since you have already understood it, I will not say anything more. Knives can be borrowed to kill people, but there is no need to return them after borrowing them. Although I am the Son of Heaven, I can also say some things It doesn't matter."
"You have never heard of this sentence."
The emperor smiled.
Fang Jie nodded: "I really didn't hear that."
"Go."
The emperor took a deep breath: "After I break Jinyang, if I still have time, I will go to Langrushan Qingxia to have a look."
Fang Xie saluted: "The minister is waiting for His Majesty to come."