The Villain's Counterattack

Chapter 592: The Duke of the County Knows That Most Reformers Do Not Have a Good End

In just three hours, Shi Feixuan felt as if several decades had passed. She had experienced the turbulent life of Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty. She felt dazed and dull, and began to wonder if she was hallucinating. She felt as if she had traveled to a completely unfamiliar world and was living in a strange Sui Dynasty.

Yang Guang was born in Chang'an. He was handsome and intelligent. After all, he was the legitimate son of Yang Jian and Dugu Qieluo, so there was no way he could be ugly. Although his appearance was given by his parents, his talent was cultivated and displayed through his own efforts.

In the first year of Kaihuang, Yang Guang was named King of Jin and was appointed as Zhuguo and Governor of Bingzhou. He was thirteen years old at the time. He was naturally intelligent, handsome, and had outstanding literary talent.

In the eighth year of Kaihuang, Emperor Wen of Sui sent troops to pacify the Southern Chen Dynasty. Yang Guang was appointed as the nominal marshal. Wherever the Sui army went, the people surrendered. After returning from the expedition, Yang Guang was promoted to Taiwei. He was 21 years old at that time.

In the tenth year of Kaihuang, rebellions broke out in various parts of Jiangnan. Emperor Wen of Sui sent Yang Su to suppress them. Afterwards, Yang Guang was ordered to go to Jiangdu to serve as the governor of Yangzhou. Jiangdu was well governed. He was 23 years old at that time.

In the 20th year of Kaihuang, the Turks invaded. Yang Guang led his army out of Lingwu, defeated the Turks and escaped unscathed. He was 33 years old.

In October of the same year, Emperor Wen of Sui deposed Yang Yong, and in November, he appointed Yang Guang as the crown prince.

In the fourth year of Renshou, Emperor Wen of Sui died of illness in Renshou Palace. Yang Guang ascended the throne, forced Yang Yong to commit suicide, and imprisoned his younger brother, King Shu Yang Xiu, in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

In the first year of Daye, Liu Fang conquered Linyi and defeated the king of Linyi.

In the same year, Sui general Wei Yunqi led the Turkic troops to defeat the Khitan.

In the second year of Daye, DTZ Qimin Khan came to the court and submitted to Yang Guang. The following year, Yang Guang went to Yulin to intimidate the Turks, Khitans, Xi, and Xun peoples.

In the same year, Yang Guang added the Jinshi category.

In the third year of Daye, Yang Guang executed Yang Yong's eldest son, Prince Changning Yang Yan, and exiled his other sons. The sons were killed one after another on the way (it was impossible for them to commit suicide at this time). The "Daye Code" was issued to reduce the punishment and show mercy.

In the third and fourth years of Daye, Zhu Kuan was sent to Ryukyu twice to appease the country, but Ryukyu refused to comply. In the sixth year of Daye, Chen Ling and Zhang Zhenzhou were sent to lead 10,000 troops to attack Ryukyu, killing its leader Kecidou and capturing 10,000 men and women.

In the fourth year of Daye, he sent troops to the Western Regions. The following year, he destroyed Tuyuhun, forced Busabo Khan to flee, and expanded his territory by thousands of miles.

Yang Guang was an absolute infrastructure maniac. He recruited many people to develop various sections of the canal and build the eastern capital Luoyang. While promoting economic growth, the selfishness of the people at the bottom led to the exploitation of the wealthy families at all levels, and the people were in dire straits and rebelled in stages.

In the fifth year of Daye, Yang Guang personally led a large army on a western tour, which shocked the countries in the Western Regions. More than 20 countries surrendered. The Tutun of Yiwulu offered a thousand miles of land, and Yang Guang established four counties: Xihai, Heyuan, Shanshan, and Qiemo.

In the sixth year of Daye, the Spring and Autumn Wu Grand Canal, the Qin Dantu Waterway, and the Southern Dynasty Grand Canal were dredged to form the Jiangnan River, connecting the north and the south, and the economic center of the Sui Dynasty shifted to a prosperous foundation.

In the seventh year of Daye, Yang Guang issued an edict to recruit troops from all over the world to attack Goguryeo.

It was already very rare that they could discuss this point in three hours. Shi Feixuan was sweating profusely and her whole body was soaked. Even the dignified Saintess of Cihang Jingzhai, who was half a step away from becoming a Grandmaster, was dizzy with the huge amount of information she had learned.

Yang Xuyan, the Duke of Liaodong County, was even more terrifying than he had imagined. This man was both civil and military. He came from a Confucian family and was proficient in the theories of various schools of thought, and he put his knowledge into practice. Especially after Yang Guang became an adult, he displayed all the information about the territory of the Sui Dynasty, the strength of the surrounding countries, the distribution of domestic forces, wealth and taxation, economy, people's livelihood, military strength, etc. on the map every year.

After Yang Guang ascended the throne, the national strength, territory, prestige and deterrence of the Sui Dynasty have been growing day by day. The Grand Canal is a wise move that will benefit future generations. Moving the capital to Luoyang is imperative. Many military operations are aimed at solving historical problems and creating a safe external situation for the Sui Dynasty.

What Shi Feixuan could not accept the most was the annual summary of the Sui Dynasty's wealth. When Yang Guang ascended the throne, Buddhism occupied 40% of the world's wealth, but less than 0.5% was invested in national economy and people's livelihood and pacifying the world. The aristocratic families occupied 30%, but less than 10% was invested in national economy and people's livelihood and pacifying the world. The court did not collect much tax, and the bulk of it was the wealth Yang Guang had plundered in his wars and the tributes from neighboring countries and his subordinates, but as much as 70% was invested in national economy and people's livelihood.

In Yang Xuyan's words, construction has never been just for enjoyment, but economic development is the priority. Just like Liaodong today, its infrastructure has surpassed more than 99% of the cities in the Sui Dynasty, only second to Luoyang and Chang'an, and comparable to Jiangdu and Yangzhou.

But have you seen the abuse of people’s power, the suffering of the people and the rebellion that is everywhere?

The basic construction was never wrong. The only wrong thing was the selfish aristocratic families who interfered and tried to gain benefits.

Since Yang Guang came to the throne, the court's income has been rising steadily, and Buddhism and aristocratic families have benefited too much, but the distribution of wealth has quietly changed. Before the three expeditions to Goguryeo, Buddhism accounted for a little more than 30% of the wealth. It was not that the wealth of Buddhism had decreased. Although Yang Guang was pushed to power by the devil, he was not harsh on Buddhism and even appeased it a lot (although it was useless, Cihang Jingzhai still had to rebel).

The real reason was that Yang Guang expanded the wealth base of the Sui Dynasty too much, diluting the share held by Buddhism. The aristocratic families in the Sui Dynasty also took the opportunity to continuously seize the benefits, even more than the share of the court. This is why Yang Guang moved the capital to Luoyang and took advantage of the three expeditions to Goguryeo to consume the power of the aristocratic families.

It was getting late, and Shi Feixuan was just an outsider after all. Although she wanted to chat with him late into the night, Ning Daoqi was watching her closely. The maid of the Duke's wife outside the reception room had urged her three times, so she had to say goodbye and agreed to come back tomorrow.

She hesitated again and again about the thick stack of information, but finally did not have the courage to ask for it. She finally sighed and left with Ning Daoqi. The latter looked at Yang Xuyan meaningfully, with a hint of strangeness in his eyes, and the smile on the corner of his mouth became more and more obvious.

The Duke of Liaodong was newly married, and his wives Shi Qingxuan and Kankan were very upset that Shi Feixuan was so tactless, but they also knew the identity of the representatives of Cihang Jingzhai. Liaodong was becoming increasingly powerful, and although they might not be afraid of them, it was better not to offend Cihang Jingzhai too much at this critical moment in order to avoid being targeted.

On the second day, Shi Feixuan and Ning Daoqi arrived early, and even had breakfast at the Liaodong County Duke's Mansion.

However, the content of today's discussion made Shi Feixuan quite uncomfortable, probably because during the three expeditions to Goguryeo, the Demon Sect and the Buddhist Sect appeared one after another. The Demon Sect supported Yang Guang in resisting the Yijian Master Fu Cailin, and the Evil King Shi Zhixuan even used this to break through to the Grand Master level, while the Buddhist Sect instigated Yang Xuangan to rebel, ruining the plan to conquer Goguryeo.

"Don't overthink it. The Buddhist sect isn't blindly seeing things and acting recklessly. It's precisely because they see things too clearly that they know clearly that if Yang Guang succeeds in his goal of conquering Goguryeo, he will not only weaken the power of the northern aristocratic families but also enhance his own prestige and momentum. The next step will be to attack the lands where the disease is deeply rooted. By then, the influence and financial resources of the Buddhist sect will plummet. That's why they strike first."

Yang Xuyan sighed, "Yang Guang's biggest problem is that his vision is too far-sighted, while his strength is slightly lacking. A half-step ahead is a genius, a full step ahead is a madman. He is destined to be nothing more than a pioneer, and future wise rulers will continue to follow the path he pointed out, saving them the tortuous process of groping their way."

Shi Feixuan looked at Yang Xuyan dimly and asked, "Does the Duke of Liaodong and Your Majesty intend to destroy Buddhism?"

Yang Xuyan laughed heartily and said, "That's not the case. It will simply redistribute the wealth of the world in a more rational way, completely solving the problem of dynasty changes that occur every hundred years."

"Your Excellency, you should know that most reformers do not have a good ending."

"Like His Majesty today?"

"..." Shi Feixuan: It seems that this topic cannot be avoided.